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Funding will be an issue. Education as a whole is never prioritised in humanitarian appeals; the $3.42bn flash appeal has been launched primarily for food, health and shelter, for example. Only 3.5% of these funds have been allocated to education. In fact, in the absence of bilateral support, Education Cannot Wait, a charity I chair that helps displaced and refugee children get an education, has had to become the third largest donor. Yet surely there is enough worldwide concern for the children of this conflict that a compassionate coalition of interests could raise the necessary cash.

Today, with resolve and determination we call on world leaders to join us in providing access to life-saving quality education for the innocent girls and boys impacted by the carnage ripping the region apart. Education is our single best investment in opening the hearts and minds to prevent further destruction and foster peacebuilding and respect for international law.

According to UNICEF, the Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child today, where thousands of innocent children have been killed, thousands more horrifically injured, and an untold number buried beneath rubble. This attack on children is unconscionable.

Hoy, con el corazón roto, conmemoramos elprimer aniversario desde la implosión de
Gaza el 7 de octubre de 2023. Hoy honramos a los rehenes,a los detenidos arbitrariamente y a los más de 40.000 civiles inocentes que, según los informes, hanmuerto en esta brutal carnicería, así como a los innumerables discapacitados y a todos los que hanquedado traumatizados de por vida.

Nos unimos al secretario general de las Naciones Unidas, António Guterres, para pedir un alto elfuego inmediato en Gaza, Líbano y más allá. Oriente Medio se ha convertido en un campo de batalladonde se han destruido miles de años de cultura y han muerto millones de personas. Que haya paz yjusticia, seguridad humana y seguridad nacional para todos los pueblos de Oriente Medio
.

Today with broken hearts, we mark the one-year anniversary since the implosion of Gaza on 7 October 2023. Today we honor the hostages, the arbitrarily detained and the more than 40,000 innocent civilians who have reportedly been killed in this brutal carnage, and the countless others that have been disabled and all who have been traumatized for life.

We join the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Lebanon and beyond. The Middle East has become a battlefield where thousands of years of culture have been destroyed and millions of lives killed. May there be peace and justice, human security and national security for all the peoples of the Middle East.

C’est à partir de 2023 que Handicap International a commencé à accompagner Anai et sa famille. Chaque semaine, un kinésithérapeute et un ergothérapeute se rendaient chez eux. À l’aide d’une chaise haute, ils faisaient faire différents exercices à la jeune fille pour renforcer les muscles de ses jambes. L’association lui a aussi fourni un nouveau fauteuil roulant à sa taille, un siège de toilette adapté ainsi que du matériel scolaire. Anai s’est exercée à utiliser ses nouveaux livres, ses crayons et ses stylos sur la chaise haute, pour développer ses capacités d’apprentissage.

Les parents d’Anai sont très dévoués et souhaitent apprendre tout ce qu’ils peuvent pour soutenir au mieux leur fille. Les équipes de Handicap International leur ont enseigné des exercices qu’ils appliquent pour aider Anai à devenir plus forte, plus mobile et à améliorer sa capacité de concentration.

• Through the Lebanon Humanitarian Programme, the UK is one of the largest donors to UN OCHA's Lebanon Humanitarian Fund which has allocated $14.7 million to a range of non-governmental organisations for preparedness and response to displacement.
• In addition to the $10m announced this week, earlier this year a CERF allocation of $9 million was released to support UN partners response to the rising needs in Southern Lebanon.
• $2.2 million Education Cannot Wait (ECW) funding has been released to support 5,000 children affected by the crisis. The UK is the second largest donor to ECW

Unfortunately, children and their families affected by such conflicts are among the most vulnerable in the world. They endure extreme poverty, severe protection vulnerabilities and they often lack access to basic services. These protracted crises are often overshadowed by more prominent global issues, yet the silent emergency of generations of children deprived of their right to education is a crisis in and of itself. Immediate relief and support are not just necessary—they are a humanitarian imperative.

Multilateral funds like Education Cannot Wait are particularly effective because they pool resources from various donors, ensuring that funds are used equitably, efficiently, and effectively. This collaborative approach maximizes impact and reduces duplication of efforts, ensuring that every dollar spent reaches those who need it most.

The day concluded with the session on “United for Education in times of Crises,” moderated by Ms. Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW), bringing together Dr. Amjad Saad Suleiman Dababat, Minister of Education and Higher Education, State of Palestine; Dr. Tariq Salem Saleh Al-Akbari, Minister of Education, Republic of Yemen; Dr. Mohammed Alshiriakah, Chairman of the Gulf Arab States Educational Research Center, Kuwait; Ms. Adele Khodr, Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, UNICEF; Mr. Fahad Al-Sulaiti, CEO, Education Above All; Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Mudiris, Director General, UNESCO Regional Centre of Quality and Excellence in Education; and Mr. Farah Sheikh Abdulqadir, Minister of Education, Culture and Higher Education, Republic of Somalia.

This initiative, driven by the global fund Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and led by UNESCO's office in Quito, focuses on strengthening education in emergency situations and prolonged crises. During this first phase, Ecuador requested technical support from LLECE to measure socio-emotional skills in students from MYRP schools, such as empathy, openness to diversity, and self-regulation in school. These skills were also assessed in the latest Regional Comparative and Explanatory Study (ERCE 2019).

Despite concerted efforts by the Government of Iraq and the international community, 2 million children are still out of school. Syrian refugees, children with disabilities, girls and other marginalized groups are the most vulnerable. It is such tragedy to see how Iraq – once the cradle of civilization – is now dependent on international aid to educate her children and refugees. By ensuring quality education and lifelong learning for them, let us hope that we can help deliver and restore education towards stability, which they all so deserve," said Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait, the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises within the United Nations.

Invertir eficazmente en la dignificación y profesionalización de la carrera docente, en la evaluación del desempeño y la formación continua de los mismos, en desarrollar competencias de gestión eficiente y eficaz y de liderazgo en todos los directores de escuelas para que el resultado sean niños, niñas y jóvenes con las competencias necesarias para vivir en el siglo 21, dan relevancia a la necesidad de la estabilidad, continuidad y gestión coherente del Sistema Educativo como estrategia país.  Indudablemente se necesita visión de trascendencia y largo plazo.  La educación no puede esperar.

In the introduction of the event, Denmark, Colombia, South Sudan, Luxembourg and the Maldives shared the challenges and some of the best practices implemented at the national level. Among other points, the need to adapt the responses to national contexts, included through communities based initiatives, as well as the issue of data collection in such contexts were highlighted. Several mentioned the importance of addressing other dimensions - beyond education - such as mental health.

Several key actors shared perspectives from their own work: UNESCO, UNICEF, UNHCR, WHO, Education cannot Wait (ECW) and the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion.