The education of 4 million children has been disrupted, with some 600,000 children without access to in-person instruction due to ongoing fighting, attacks and displacement.
KIEV, Ukraine, Sept. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ – At a high-level UN mission to Ukraine this week, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) leadership met with girls and boys affected by the brutal war and partners on the ground to better understand how the education of some 4 million children in Ukraine has been disrupted.
“This atrocious war must stop now! For as long as the children, adolescents and teachers in Ukraine suffer this unfathomable horror, schools must be protected from attacks. As a global community we must rise to the challenge before us to ensure that every girl and every boy in Ukraine impacted by this brutal war and the refugees have access to the safety, hope and opportunity that only a quality education can provide.” – Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW).
The visit concluded at the Fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen with a call to world leaders to commit to protecting education from attacks and to increase funding to provide life-saving access to safer in-person classes, distance learning when needed, and tutoring that focuses on quality and inclusive education.
“This cruel war must stop now! As long as children, young people and teachers in Ukraine suffer this unimaginable horror, schools must be protected from attacks. As a global community, we must rise to the challenge before us to ensure that every girl and boy in Ukraine affected by this brutal war and refugees have access to the safety, hope and opportunity that only a quality education can provide,” said Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the United Nations’ global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises. “Our investment in education is an investment in reconstruction, in peace, security and justice for Ukraine and beyond. It is an investment in the great potential of future generations.”
ECW and its strategic donor partners have provided more than USD 26.9 million since 2017 to support high-quality, holistic education programs in the Ukraine The programmes, implemented by a consortium of partners including Finn Church Aid, the Kyiv School of Economics, Save the Children and UNICEF, in coordination with the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science, have reached more than 360 000 children, of whom about 65% are girls.
“Education Cannot Wait’s support is critical to children, their parents and teachers who are doing everything in their power to keep classrooms open and continue in-person learning despite the impact of war across the country,” said Munir Mammadzade, UNICEF Representative in Ukraine.
ECW support includes an allocation of USD 20.4 million for the implementation of a Multi-annual resilience programme in Ukraine. The investment is expected to mobilise millions of euros in additional funding and reach more than 150,000 children in 10 of the most affected areas of Ukraine.
Investments will improve learning outcomes by creating safer and more accessible physical learning environments, expanding digital learning initiatives and providing alternative educational opportunities. To address the challenges faced by girls and boys in this ongoing conflict, there is also a focus on mental health and psychosocial support, as well as targeted support for girls and children with disabilities.
At last year’s high-level Education Cannot Wait funding conference, the Global Business Coalition for Education (GBCE) has pledged to mobilise USD 50 million from the business community to support ECW’s four-year strategic plan. In collaboration with GBCE, TheirWorld, HP and Microsoft, USD 39 million has already been mobilised for ECW in the form of partnerships and equipment donations, and more than 70,000 laptops have been distributed to schools, teachers and others in need in Ukraine and neighbouring countries.
Deadly and destructive attacks on educational institutions have been carried out again across Ukraine since the start of the school year in early September. Some 600,000 school-age children have no access to in-person instruction, and since the beginning of the war, UNICEF over 1,300 educational facilities damaged or destroyed. Even when children are in school, the constant threat of bombings and attacks affects the quality and continuity of education for children who have been displaced from their homes, lost loved ones in the fighting, and live under constant threat.
Education Cannot Wait and its strategic partners are calling for an additional $600 million to achieve the global goals set out in the Fund’s four-year strategic plan to provide children in crisis-affected countries around the world with high-quality, holistic education and hope for a better future.
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