We Must Unite to Protect Education From Attack

Schools, students and teachers continue to be targeted and attacked in countries around the world. Over the past two years, we have seen a substantial increase in the number of attacks on education. Innocent children, adolescents and teachers are being killed, raped and abducted. Schools and universities are bombed, burned down and used for military purposes. Girls and boys are too scared to walk to school and face intimidation and other attacks. These are severe breaches of international humanitarian law and ultimately – and absolutely – inhumane.

Transforming Girls’ Education, Changing The World

As we approach this year’s Transforming Education Summit, global leaders can and must prioritize expertise and mobilize political will to support efforts to ensure inclusive and quality education for all, especially girls. This is at the heart of Sustainable Development Goal 4 in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as the commitments made in the Charlevoix Declaration and the G7 Declaration on Girls’ Education.

Education Cannot Wait Interviews Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator

 

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres appointed Martin Griffiths of the United Kingdom as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator in May 2021.

Mental Health as a Human Right Left Behind for Children in Fragile and Humanitarian Settings

Hiding in basements during bombings, fleeing their homes, going hungry, and facing the devastating and life-transformative traumas of losing their loved ones as their childhoods go up in flames of war. These are the lived experiences of crisis-impacted children and adolescents.

Funding Urgently Needed for Children’s Education in Conflict Areas—ECW Director

Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW) issued a wake-up call for the global community to support efforts on facilitating education in crisis areas. She was speaking at the United Nations at the launch of the global fund's annual report titled We Have Promises to Keep.

Keeping the Promise of Education for Crisis-Impacted Children and Adolescents

Syrian refugee children are among the most disadvantaged in Iraq. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, only 53 percent of school-aged Syrian refugee children in the country were enrolled.

It Takes a Village to Raise and Support a Child in a Humanitarian Crisis

As we come together to celebrate people helping people on this year’s World Humanitarian Day, we honor the courageous and remarkable humanitarians delivering on the frontlines to help us achieve our goals for peace, universal human rights, and education for all.

Education Cannot Wait Proud to Participate in Global Citizen Festival 2022: Calling on World Leaders and Donors to Empower Girls and End Extreme Poverty Now

Education Cannot Wait (ECW) - the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises - is proud to support and participate in the 2022 Global Citizen Festival. Participants will call on world leaders at the UN General Assembly - and ahead of the G20 and COP27 in November - to step up and invest $600 million into the future of women and girls, close the annual $10 billion climate financing shortfall, deliver $500 million to help African farmers respond to the global food crisis, and provide relief from crushing debts to End Extreme Poverty Now.

ECW Interviews Three Inspiring #Youth4EiE Advocates on International Youth Day

On this International Youth Day, ECW interviewed three inspiring #Youth4EiE Advocates – Nataly Rivas, Angela Abizera, and Jean-Paul Saif. Nataly, Angela, and Jean-Paul are three Global Youth for Education in Emergencies panel members.

‘Aid Organizations Must Include the Youth Voice’ August 12, 2022—International Youth Day

Today marks International Youth Day, a global celebration of the transformative power of young people. Introduced by the United Nations General Assembly in 1999, the event was inaugurated not only to observe the power of the youth voice, but to serve as a promise from those in power to activate the power of youth across the development sector.

Education Cannot Wait Interviews USAID Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman

 
Isobel Coleman was sworn in as Deputy Administrator for Policy and Programming at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in November 2021.

Urgent Global Call to Save 222 Million Dreams for Children Impacted by Crises

It is not enough that they were robbed of their childhoods and their shattered young lives defined by bombs, bloodshed and death. Now, crisis-impacted school-aged children are falling off the academic bridge that could lead them out of the carnage.

Education Cannot Wait: 222 Million Crisis-Impacted Children in Urgent Need of Educational Support According to New Study

The United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, Education Cannot Wait (ECW), released a shocking new report today that indicates the number of crisis-impacted school-aged children requiring educational support has grown from an estimated 75 million in 2016 to 222 million today.

Education Cannot Wait Interviews UNICEF Executive Director Catherine M. Russell

 
Catherine M. Russell became UNICEF’s eighth Executive Director on 1 February 2022. Ms. Russell brings to the role decades of experience in developing innovative policy that empowers underserved communities around the world, including high-impact programmes that protect women and girls, including in humanitarian crises. She has extensive experience building, elevating and managing diverse workforces and mobilizing resources and political support for a broad range of initiatives.

Private Sector Needed as Addressing Education in Emergencies is Everyone’s Business

Against a backdrop of ongoing social changes, education is becoming increasingly important for success in life. But with disasters, pandemics, armed conflicts, and political crises forcing children out of school, a future of success is often placed far out of reach.

Education Cannot Wait Expands First Emergency Response in Northern Ethiopia with Additional US$2 Million Grant, Bringing ECW Ongoing Investments in Ethiopia to over $30 Million

Conflicts in Northern Ethiopia’s regions of Afar, Amhara and Tigray, have pushed children and adolescents out of school and are fueling humanitarian needs in the region. In response to this crisis, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) announced today a US$2 million First Emergency Response Grant that will reach more than 20,000 refugee and displaced, as well as host community children and adolescents. This brings ECW ongoing investments in Ethiopia to over $30 million.

Today is the Time for Transformation

“I first think about my children. They are why we were forced to leave - because our children are always our first concern.” These are the moving words of Victoria, who fled the brutal war in Ukraine with her two daughters. Her eyes welling up with tears, she recalled their dangerous journey from Ukraine. She and her two school-aged daughters were forced to leave behind everything they have ever known.

Education Cannot Wait Interviews Leonardo Garnier, Special Adviser of the UN Secretary-General for the Transforming Education Summit

 
ECW: Congratulations on your appointment by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres as the Special Adviser for the Transforming Education Summit. What do you hope to achieve through the Summit and why is it so critical that the world comes together to address the global education crisis around this September’s UN General Assembly?

Breaking Menstruation Taboos and Leaving No Girl Behind

Fourteen-year-old Hadiza smiles as she clutches a purple bag in her hands. Inside the cloth bag is a Menstrual Hygiene Management kit, an essential item that gives her dignity and enables her to continue with school even when menstruating.

ECW, Strategic Partners Bring Relief to Child Refugees Fleeing Ukrainian Conflict

A brutal war now engulfs the young lives of an estimated 7.5 million children in Ukraine. Caught in the crossfire of bullets and missiles as the conflict escalates, children and young people have been plunged into a humanitarian crisis.

Education Cannot Wait in Moldova with Strategic Partners Scaling-up its Ukraine Crisis Regional Education Response to US$6.5 Million for Crisis-affected Children and Youth

Expanding on Education Cannot Wait’s (ECW) US$5 million Ukraine First Emergency Response grant announced in March, ECW today announced a new, initial US$1.5 million allocation to support the education in emergencies response for the Ukraine refugee crisis in Moldova while on mission with strategic partners USAID, FCDO/UK and Theirworld. This new allocation brings ECW’s total Ukraine crisis education response to US$6.5 million to date. The new grant will be delivered in partnership with the Government of Moldova to ensure refugee children and youth can access safe and protective learning opportunities. Investments will also benefit children in the host communities. The development of the grant will be facilitated through the coordination mechanism established for the education response.