Introduction
Humanitarian response: a challenging forecast
Global humanitarian needs are at an all-time high, outpacing funding to a greater extent than before. UN estimates of humanitarian needs in 2022 broke new records, requiring US $41 billion appeal to assist 183 million people across 63 countries. While increased operational coverage and improved measurement has heightened the humanitarian sector’s awareness of people’s needs, several factors are contributing to this unprecedented demand. These include protracted and worsening conflicts, the impacts of climate change, and the Covid-19 pandemic. As these factors roll back development gains, the humanitarian system is struggling to assist an ever-growing group of people whose vulnerability is increasingly entrenched.
This global situation has created ever more complex, challenging and blurred operational and coordination contexts for humanitarians. Demands on cluster coordinators are greater than ever as they navigate the pandemic response, mixed refugee and internally displaced person (IDP) contexts, non-activated cluster contexts where pressure to support remains, and overlapping needs and priorities that call for an inter-sectoral approach. At the same time, protracted crises require alignment with national actors, sustainable systems and plans, to support continued access to learning for children and young people.
Education in emergencies: more vital and urgent than ever
Every child and young person has the right to education, including in humanitarian contexts. Education in emergencies supports the psychosocial well-being, continued learning – and hope for the future – among children and youth affected by crises. It is also an ‘enabling right’, a key factor in addressing the root causes of conflict and disaster, and a prerequisite for rebuilding communities in the wake of crises. Education in emergencies is the key to a better future not only for children and youth, but also for whole societies.
However, the world is undergoing what Save the Children calls “the biggest global education emergency of our lifetime”. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on access to education and learning worldwide. This sustained disruption to education has set back school enrolment progress and is likely to exacerbate the ongoing global learning crisis, resulting in lower educational attainment. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, each year of school closures results in school-age children losing an estimated 2.8 years of education – and some may never return. The disruptions to school and family life have also increased child protection risks and negatively affected mental health for many children and youth, highlighting the importance of safe and protective learning spaces.
School closures and the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic are especially concerning for girls, exacerbating risks such as early marriage, pregnancy, child labour and poverty. These protection risks and barriers to education are also expected to affect other vulnerable groups such as indigenous children and youth, and those with disabilities.
Protracted conflict has resulted in unprecedented rates of displacement, which swallows up the bulk of humanitarian funding. In conflict-affected settings, school closures – and teacher, classroom and learning material shortages – result in regular education disruptions. Schools have also become a target, putting thousands of children and youth at physical risk – from 2015–2019, schools, universities, students and staff experienced more than 11,000 reported attacks in at least 93 countries. Adding to the complexity, overlapping climate risks are projected to disrupt education and other basic services for millions of children.
Since 2017, education in emergencies has received new attention and funding. Establishing Education Cannot Wait (ECW), for example, generated more than US $1 billion in education funds, and European Commission Humanitarian Aid (ECHO) has committed to allocating 10 per cent of humanitarian funding to education. The Global Partnership for Education has also increased funding to fragile and crisis-affected contexts in recent years. Despite these positive developments, recent estimates show that only 2.6 per cent of global humanitarian funding is earmarked for education. In the coming years education financing, and humanitarian financing more broadly, is expected to contract as the Covid-19 pandemic further weakens the global economy.
Given this uncertain and precarious humanitarian outlook, the need for all children and youth to access continuous, safe, quality education services is more vital and urgent than ever.
The background to this strategy
The Global Education Cluster (GEC), as a convener of a wide range of education in emergencies stakeholders at both country and global levels, is positioned to rally these actors to respond to these unprecedented challenges.
This strategy details the GEC’s role in strengthening collective action around education in emergencies. It also sets out strategic objectives to guide the GEC and its partners in coordinating and delivering an ambitious education response from 2022–2025.
A broad consultative process drove this strategy development. In addition to an extensive literature review, around 200 education stakeholders at global, regional and country levels were consulted on, and contributed to, the strategy design. Country-level perspectives were prioritised, via six regional consultations with coordinators and three country-level consultations with cluster partners. At critical points in the development process, the GEC Team and Strategic Advisory Group (SAG) members were consulted to validate findings and build consensus on key elements of the strategy. Findings from the consultation process are documented in an accompanying Global Education Cluster Strategy Background Report.
