New Education Fund Targets 750,000 Crisis-Affected Children
ADDIS ABEBA – Education Cannot Wait (ECW) announces a US$27 million investment to support the delivery of quality inclusive education to close to 750,000 girls and boys displaced by the crises in Ethiopia.
The funding will support the implementation of a new multi-year resilience program developed by the Ministry of Education with the support of EWC – the first global fund dedicated to education in emergencies.
UNICEF – a grantee of the ECW-fund – said the catalytic grant is designed to activate resource mobilization efforts from donors to fully fund the program. It is estimated to cost over US$160 million over three years.
Ethiopia’s Minister of Education, Tilaye Gete (Ph.D.), said the multi-year investment “will help address one of the most important yet often overlooked needs for vulnerable children and youth in times of crisis”.
“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,” the minister added.
If fully funded, the program will reach 745,000 children, according to UNICEF.
To help address Ethiopia’s high drop-out rates at Grade 1, the program focuses on early childhood education, providing improved educational opportunities for 213,000 pre-primary and 532,000 primary school-aged children.
It will also 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.
“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 Adele Khodr, UNICEF Representative.
“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,” said Khodr.
The new grant from ECW builds on the achievements of the Fund’s Initial Investment in Ethiopia, which reached 86,000 girls and boys from 2017 to 2019.
Ministry of Education will lead the program 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.
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Image Caption: Changkuoth, Ter, 26, is a grade 4 science teacher. He joined Tierkidi School No. 3, Refugee Camp in 2014. His first daughter, 6, goes to the same school where he teaches. UNICEF Ethiopia/2018/Mersha
