Every Crisis-Affected Girl and Boy has the Right to Inclusive
and Equitable Quality Education
NEW YORK, May 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In the lead up
to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres' Summit of the
Future, taking place on 22-23 September
2024, Education Cannot Wait is supporting the global #ActNow
Campaign with an urgent call to increase funding for the more than
226 million crisis-impacted children worldwide urgently in need of
an education through ECW's global #ShareTheirVoices campaign.
According to the United Nations, without additional
resources, 84 million children and youth will be out of school by
2030, 300 million will lack basic numeracy and literacy skills, and
only one out of six nations worldwide will achieve our promise of
universal secondary education. Low- and lower-middle income
countries face a US$100 billion
annual financing gap to reach their education targets.
Education Cannot Wait (ECW), as the global fund for
education in emergencies and protracted crises within the United
Nations, has mobilized US$900
million towards its US$1.5 billion funding target
required to deliver on our 2023-2026 Strategic Plan. ECW
urgently appeals to donors for US$600
million to close the funding gap so we can reach 20 million
crisis-affected children and adolescents with the safety, hope and
opportunity of quality education.
ECW's #ShareTheirVoices campaign brings together the words of
crisis-affected girls and boys from places like Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gaza, North-East Nigeria, Sudan, Haiti,
Cox's Bazaar, South Sudan,
Syria and Ukraine, where the converging challenges of
armed conflict, forced displacement, climate change and other
protracted crises are derailing development gains and putting
girls' and boys' lives at grave risk.
Afghanistan is the only country
in the world where girls and women are officially, and
unacceptably, banned from secondary and tertiary education. One
Afghan girl says, "I may have been denied the right to learn, but
my hunger for knowledge will not be extinguished. I will find a way
to educate myself and inspire others to do the same." Afghans girls
deserve no less than an equal opportunity to develop their
potential, thrive and pursue their dreams. We must continue to
share their voices.
In Gaza, the education
system has collapsed. Innocent children are bearing the brutal
brunt of a catastrophic humanitarian situation unfolding before our
eyes. Since early October, 625,000 children enrolled in schools
across Gaza have had no access to
education, and approximately 86% of school buildings have been
damaged or destroyed. Despite the destruction and devastation that
surrounds them, children are still grasping on to the hope of a
brighter future where they can live and learn in peace and
protection. A school-aged girl in Gaza says, "I love school, I don't like war at
all. I miss my teacher very much. I miss my friends, and I miss
playing with them."
From within the world's largest refugee camp, Cox's Bazaar,
located in Bangladesh,
11-year-old Zawad, a Rohingya refugee, says, "Educated people have
the knowledge to define right and wrong, which will help them lead
a better life. I ask world leaders to provide more support for
education."
The deadly armed conflict in Ukraine continues to rage on with millions of
girls and boys heavily affected – suffering trauma, shelling,
displacement, injury and death. School is an important place for
16-year-old Anastasia but the piercing siren signaling possible
rocket attacks is all-too familiar. "When we go to the shelter,
it's harder to sit in class. It's hard to hear, it's hot and it's
harder to memorize information – but I feel safe at school," says
Anastasia, who dreams of one day becoming a doctor.
Aisha, 13, is in a wheelchair, and was denied education for most
of her life as a result of her disability and ongoing conflict and
insecurity in North-East Nigeria.
"Before I came to this school, I was not doing anything – no
education at all. Now, I am able to learn and, when I grow up, I
want to become a teacher so I can teach other kids," says Aisha.
She is just one of 20 million children out of school in
Nigeria.
If we don't #ShareTheirVoices, if we don't act, what chance do
these crisis-affected – yet full of potential and hope – children
have? And what hope does humanity have if a quarter of a billion
children and adolescents never access a school and only experience
brutal violence and trauma? For Aisha, Anastasia, and millions of
other girls and boys caught in crises across the world, education
is not just life-changing, it is also lifesaving.
We must #ShareTheirVoices as we come together as a global
community to #ActNow for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
and for universal human rights. We know that quality education is
an essential support in delivering on all of the other SDGs, from
ending famine, starvation and extreme poverty, to achieving gender
equality and addressing the climate crisis.
Education Cannot Wait for any crisis-affected child – no matter
who or where they are. Let's #ShareTheirVoices and #ActNow: every
girl and boy has the right to the safety, hope and opportunity of a
quality education.
Additional Resources
- Join Education Cannot Wait's #ShareTheirVoices campaign by
sharing out your calls for support with @EduCannotWait using our
Social Media Toolkit.
- #ActNow is the United Nations campaign to inspire people to act
for the Sustainable Development Goals. Join the campaign
today.
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