Not far, a 27 million USD investment project was launched in New-York to support the delivery of quality inclusive education to close to 750,000 girls and boys displaced by crises in Ethiopia. The project initiates resource mobilization efforts to fill 134 million USD funding gap for education in emergency response.
The funding will support the implementation of a new multi-year resilience program developed by the Ministry of Education with the support of Education Cannot Wait and a range of partners – United Nations agencies and civil society organizations – and donors to address pressing humanitarian crises that have displaced over 2.6 million school-aged children.
The catalytic grant is designed to activate resource mobilization efforts from donors, civil society organizations, the private sector and philanthropic foundations to fully fund the program, which will cost an estimated US$161 million over three years.
“This multi-year investment Education Cannot Wait will help address one of the most important yet often overlooked needs for vulnerable children and youth in times of crisis,” said Dr. Tilaye Gete, former Minister of Education of Ethiopia. “By building a programmatic response that brings together multiple stakeholders including the local community, this is a sustainable investment in the future of our children and in the prosperity of our country.”
If fully funded, the program will reach 745,000 children (380,000 boys and 365,000 girls, including 74,600 children with disabilities). To help address Ethiopia’s high drop-out rates at Grade one, the program focuses on early childhood education, providing improved educational opportunities for 213,000 pre-primary and 532,000 primary school-aged children.
To improve the inclusive quality of education, and create equitable, safe, protective and gender-sensitive learning environments, the program will support over 1,200 refugee teachers and 10,000 national teachers in building their capacity to respond to the specific psychosocial needs of displaced children.
The program will be led by Ethiopia’s Ministry of Education in partnership with Save the Children International, UNICEF, Education Cannot Wait and the Education Cluster. UNICEF and Save the Children will implement Education Cannot Wait’s US$27 million three-year grant.
Since April 2017, UNICEF has supported the education of over 138,000 children in refugee and host communities with funding from Education Cannot Wait.
“This seed funding from Education Cannot Wait will be key in restoring and continuing the education of some of the most vulnerable children in Ethiopia, many of whom have had their education interrupted by displacement,” said UNICEF Representative Adele Khodr.
“UNICEF, as a grantee of the ECW-fund, along with Save the Children, will continue to work with the Ministry of Education and local education partners and stakeholders to build the resilience of the education system to provide quality education and skills to over 60,000 out-of-school children.”
Ekin Ogutogullari, Country Director of Save the Children in Ethiopia said, “According to the 2019 OCHA severity analysis data, Somali Regional State is one of the most affected regions by recurrent humanitarian crises. Save the Children has been working in this region with the government, community members, schools and other partners to address education and related needs and rights of vulnerable children and the communities.
The seed funding from Education Cannot Wait, in which Save the Children is grantee in Somali region, will significantly build on existing efforts to create safe, inclusive and protective learning opportunities for crisis-affected pre and primary school-age boys and girls.”
The program will be rolled out in 17 locations, covering 60,000 out-of-school children, and then expand as resource mobilization efforts allow for scaling up of these results.
“This is an opportunity for aid partners to work together in breaking the cycles of inequality, illiteracy, poverty, and hunger that too often come with forced displacement and jeopardize a child’s development. It’s a new vision for how nations can address the pressing educational needs of internally displaced children, refugees and returnees,” said Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait.
“We must step up to address this challenge and I call on all partners to join our efforts and contribute to this multi-year resilience program to ensure no child is left behind in Ethiopia.”
The new grant builds on the achievements of the Fund’s Initial investment in Ethiopia, which reached 86,000 girls and boys from 2017 to 2019, enhancing quality and inclusive educational opportunities for refugee children and youth in the country in the Gambela and Beninshagul-Gumuz regions.
The Ethiopian Herald February 6/2020
BY GIRMACHEW GASHAW
