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Today, there are more than 224 million crisis-impacted children worldwide who urgently need education support. New analysis by Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, hosted by UNICEF, has found that 62 million of these children have been impacted by climate hazards such as droughts, floods, cyclones and other extreme weather events since 2020. That’s close to the total populations of several G7 nations such as the United Kingdom, France or Italy.

While these children have contributed least to the issue of climate change, they have the most to lose. Furthermore, over the last ten years, 31 million school-aged children have been displaced by the climate crisis, with 13 million in the last three years alone.

Thanks to Education Cannot Wait (ECW) investments in Somalia – and the support of partners such as Save the Children – Bisharo and her classmates no longer need to leave school grounds for breaks, privacy and menstrual hygiene products. This leads to fewer disruptions to their education and a decreased chance of them dropping out of school altogether.

"Before the room was built, we used to go home during breaktime to rest and eat snacks, and we used to be late, get in trouble or even be marked absent. There were no private washrooms or a place to change or rest during the time of our menstrual cycle, which often forced us to stay at home for a few days and miss important lessons," says Bisharo.

Today, there are more than 224 million crisis-impacted children worldwide who urgently need education support. New analysis by Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, hosted by UNICEF, has found that 62 million of these children have been impacted by climate hazards such as droughts, floods, cyclones and other extreme weather events since 2020. That's close to the total populations of several G7 nations such as the United Kingdom, France or Italy.

While these children have contributed least to the issue of climate change, they have the most to lose. Furthermore, over the last ten years, 31 million school-aged children have been displaced by the climate crisis, with 13 million in the last three years alone.

According to Yasmine Sherif, ECW’s focus on schooling and proper education is also specifically important for the reduction of child poverty in Chad: “While Chad has a generous welcoming and inclusive policy for refugees, its national education system is already overstretched and lacks resources and qualified personnel. Chad’s education performance indicators are among the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, with 56% of primary school-aged children out-of-school.”

Right Here, Right Now: Education Cannot Wait Issues US$150 Million Appeal to Scale Up Work in Response to the Climate Crisis. Released in advance of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai, the new appeal underscores the urgent need to connect education action with climate action. New ECW data indicates that 62 million children and adolescents affected by climate shocks are in desperate need of education support since 2020.

MYRP provincial head, Mr. Tariq Hayat Yousafzai congratulated the teachers and administrators for completing their three-day training workshop and said that the training workshops polish professional skills.

He said that children always believe their teachers even before listening to them because they think that the teacher is always right.

He added that under the ECW fund, 24 ECE and 36 CLP centers have been established in Peshawar, Nowshera and Charsadda, where free quality education is being ensured to the children.

Building on commitments made at the 'Transforming Education Summit Call to Action on Disability Inclusive Education' and the 'Global Disability Summit 2022', Education Cannot Wait (ECW) takes concrete action to ensure inclusive, accessible education for all.

Guided by our Policy and Accountability Framework on Disability Inclusion, ECW ensures that at least 5% of our funding goes to support the equitable access, participation and achievement of persons with disabilities. We have high standards to systematically improve results for children with disabilities.

9. Right Here, Right Now: Education Cannot Wait Issues US$150 Million Appeal to Scale Up Work in Response to the Climate Crisis: Released in advance of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai, the new appeal underscores the urgent need to connect education action with climate action. New ECW data indicates that 62 million children and adolescents affected by climate shocks are in desperate need of education support since 2020.

We call upon donors to invest more in crisis-sensitive education planning and education in emergencies – including by providing new and additional funds to Education Cannot Wait which faces a funding gap of approximately $640 million to deliver its ambitious strategic plan and reach 20 million crisis-impacted children. 

With the likelihood that threats will continue to increase in the future, millions of children’s learning and wellbeing is under threat.  But it doesn’t have to be this way. 2024 could be the turning point to secure quality, safe and inclusive education for all.

In 2023, despite security challenges, UNICEF has supported MENAPLN to facilitate access to education for 763,000 children, through formal education, accelerated schooling strategies, vocational training and education by radio programme, and distributed over 150,000 school kits and supplies. UNICEF also supported teacher training to ensure 350 new schools apply the “Quality Child-Friendly School” standards and the Safe School approach.

Thanks to generous contributions from donors such as the European Union, Education Cannot Wait and Japan, UNICEF helps restore the right to education for thousands of children in Burkina Faso.

For children with disabilities — for whom even getting to school or moving around inside the school building can be a struggle — the challenges can seem insurmountable. In Peru, an innovative multi-year program delivered by UNICEF with funding from the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies, Education Cannot Wait (ECW), is helping girls and boys with disabilities, like Anaís and Joel, to find new opportunities and new hope through quality, inclusive education.

An estimated 80 percent of countries categorized as extremely high-risk are also categorized as Least Developed Countries (LDCs). More than 62 million children—nearly one-third of the 224 million crisis-affected children worldwide in need of educational support—face the repercussions of climate-related events like floods, storms, droughts, and cyclones, which are further intensified by climate change. 

Against this backdrop and in advance of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, Education Cannot Wait, issued today an urgent appeal for USD 150 million in new funding to respond to the climate crisis.