Global charities urge world leaders to create education in emergencies fund by Unesco, Education for All, A World at School 4:27pm 3rd Jul, 2015   More than 30 of the world''s leading charities and campaign organisations have joined forces to call on world leaders to create an urgent fund to provide education for children affected by wars and natural disasters.    The appeal comes just days before a meeting of governments at the Oslo Education Summit on July 7 and following a new policy paper from UNESCO which articulates how ‘inefficient humanitarian and development aid systems’ are excluding millions of children in conflict from an education.    A joint statement by prominent NGOs and campaign organisations - led by A World at School and including Oxfam, Save the Children, World Vision, Action Aid, Malala Fund, Plan International, Muslim Aid and Avaaz - calls for a public commitment to be made at the summit for the creation of a Global Humanitarian Fund and Platform for Education in Emergencies.    Over 20 million children are currently being denied an education because they live in conflict and disaster zones, with young girls 90% more likely to be out of secondary school in conflict areas than elsewhere, according to the UNESCO report.    Despite the growing numbers caught up in tragedy, in 2014 only 1% of overall humanitarian aid and 2% of humanitarian appeals was spent on education.    A new policy brief released today from A World at School shows the consequences of not investing in education in emergencies. Children out of school are at immediate risk of child labour, recruitment as child soldiers, early marriage and other forms of sexual exploitation, slavery and trafficking.    In conflict and emergencies, investment in education can both save lives in the short-term and billions of dollars in opportunity costs in the long-term. For example, in Pakistan between 2009 and 2012, lack of access to education for 5.5 million children due to conflict is estimated to have cost $2.9 billion in lost income.    On July 7, International donors, leading education experts and advocates will come together in Oslo to mobilise renewed political commitment for the 58 million children that remain out of school.    There is an opportunity to commit to the creation of a Global Humanitarian Fund for Education in Emergencies which should enable additional predictable funding and more efficiently co-ordinate rapid assistance at the onset of an emergency and bridge the gaps between humanitarian and development aid in the rebuilding phase.    Kolleen Bouchane, Policy and Advocacy Director for A World at School, said: “The financing situation is bleak for basic education but in conflict and disaster scenarios it is absolutely devastating.    "Not investing in children’s education in emergencies is a choice for inaction, a choice to waste the lives and resources of entire communities. It is a false economy that is increasing suffering, and costing millions.    “World leaders must no longer ignore the needs of the most vulnerable children in the world. We must see immediate action in Oslo with clear deadlines for next steps which reflect the necessary urgency to ensure entire generations are not trapped in a perpetual cycle of poverty and war with no hope for rebuilding their lives, communities and countries.”    David Skinner, Education Global Initiative Director of Save the Children, said: "We must translate rhetoric on equity and learning into reality and put the needs of the most deprived children first. More and better funding for education in emergencies is critical to doing this."    Linda Hiebert, Senior Director, Education and Life Skills, for World Vision International, said: “It is unacceptable that, in 2014, only 1% of humanitarian aid went to education when nearly half of out-of-school children live in conflict and emergency settings.    “World Vision believes it is possible to end extreme poverty by 2030 if leaders stop at nothing to deliver truly ambitious goals focused on the most vulnerable children in the hardest places to live. This includes the creation of a Global Humanitarian Fund for Education in Emergencies.”    http://www.aworldatschool.org/news/entry/Global-charities-call-for-education-in-emergencies-fund-2087 http://reliefweb.int/report/world/walk-talk-review-donors-humanitarian-policies-education http://www.osloeducationsummit.no/ http://sd.iisd.org/news/oslo-summit-establishes-commission-focused-on-global-education-finance/    July 2015 (UN News)    The number of out-of-school children and adolescents around the world has risen to worrying levels, dealing a potential blow to education targets aimed at achieving universal primary and secondary education, a new United Nations report has warned.    According to the study released today by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Education for All Global Monitoring Report (EFR GMR), 124 million children and adolescents are now out of school while international aid to education continues to remain below 2010 levels.    In addition, the latest numbers show that some 24 million children will never enter a classroom with girls remaining the most disadvantaged cohort figuring in the study. In South and West Asia alone, 80 per cent of out-of-school girls are unlikely to start school compared to just 16 per cent for their male counterparts.    In a press release accompanying the report''s publication, UNESCO''s Director General, Irina Bokova, pointed to warnings that unless countries “make serious commitments” towards increasing education aid, the ambitious targets made by the international community promising 12 years of free and equitable access to quality education “could remain elusive for millions of children and youth.”    The problem of education funding is of particular concern, the study adds. Despite a six per cent increase in aid to education, investment levels are four per cent lower today than in 2010 and risk stagnating for the next few years.    “Aid needs to be shooting upwards, not creeping up by a few percentage points,” declared Aaron Benavot, Director of the EFA GMR. “The world just set itself the huge goal of providing 12 years of free education. This simply won''t happen unless donors get serious about funding.”    Estimates suggest that it will cost an extra $39 billion to provide the 12 years of education to everyone in low and lower-middle income countries. In order to fill this shortfall, however, UNESCO and EFA GMR note that donor countries must increase their aid to education six-fold.    “The Oslo Summit on Education for Development and the Third Financing for Development Conference in Addis Ababa next month present a real test of donor commitment,” Mr. Benavot continued. “Without it, targets and promises for progress are unlikely to be met.”    http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51340#.VZseYrWpWzm    June 2015    34 million children and adolescents are out of school in conflict-affected countries    A new report by UNESCO’s Education For All Global Monitoring Report (EFA GMR) shows that 34 million children and adolescents are out of school in conflict-affected countries.    The most vulnerable are the hardest hit: the poorest are twice as likely to be out of school as their counterparts in peaceful countries. The report shows that $2.3 billion is required to place them in school - ten times the amount that education is receiving from humanitarian aid right now.    The report showed that only a third of countries had reached global education goals set in 2000, and identified conflict as one of the major barriers to achieving better results. The report shows the extent of the challenges that conflict presents.    Children in conflict-affected countries are more than twice as likely, and adolescents two-thirds more likely, to be out of school than in non-conflict affected countries. Young women are almost 90 per cent more likely to be out of secondary school in conflict affected-countries than elsewhere.    “Returning to school may be the only flicker of hope and normality for many children and youth in countries engulfed in crises,” said Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO. “The Incheon Declaration adopted by 160 countries commits to meeting the needs of these populations through more resilient, resistive and inclusive education systems and a response to crisis that spans the phases of emergency, recovery and building. Education must be seen as part of the first response when crisis hits and an integral part of any peacebuilding strategy.”    One of the core reasons conflict is taking such a heavy toll on education is lack of financing. In 2014, education received only two per cent of humanitarian aid. The report determines that even the suggested target of four per cent, championed since 2011, is insufficient. Had this target been met in 2013, it would have left 15.5 million children and youth without any humanitarian assistance in education.    Aaron Benavot, Director of the Eduation for All, said: “A new target for directing funds to education in times of conflict has been required for some time. Present targets are hugely insufficient and diverting attention from the true needs of children and youth on the ground. For primary education, an extra $38 is needed per child in conflict situations. $113 is needed per adolescent in lower secondary education. Surely we can find these funds. Most of us carry the cost for one child in our pocket.”    Media attention unfairly prioritizes some countries over others: more than half of available humanitarian aid to education was allocated to just 15 out of 342 appeals between 2000 and 2014.    Many appeals do not cover all those in need. In 2013, 21 million people in conflict-affected zones were identified as requiring education support. Just eight million were included in appeals. Of those, just three million received assistance once funding was distributed – leaving 18 million without any help at all.    The report proposes a new, evidence-based finance target, and makes recommendations for tightening the current aid structure for education in crises:    There must be a consistent and objective education needs assessment to truly understand the requirements of children and adolescents in conflict.    There should be better connections between humanitarian and development financing: The World Humanitarian Summit in July 2016 together with a High-Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing to be formed later in 2015 represent opportunities to make humanitarian funding more relevant and realistic.    The $2.3 billion funding gap for education in conflict, which is ten times more than education currently receives from humanitarian aid, urgently needs to be filled.    Any new global emergency education fund should ensure that resources for education in crises are additional, flexible and predictable. Funding must be aligned to need. It should work closely with the Global Partnership for Education and the Global Education Cluster. Visit the related web page
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