UN to raise $3.8 billion for education in war zones and natural disaster areas
Because of Syria's聽civil war, 2.6 million Syrian children have stopped attending聽school. In聽war-torn聽Iraq,聽the classrooms in 1,200 schools were closed to turn聽the buildings聽into聽shelters. In聽South Sudan, 400,000 children withdrew from聽school.听聽
To ensure these children receive an education, as well as the 75 million children worldwide whose learning聽was disrupted by war or natural disaster, a $3.8 billion fund was launched聽Monday, announced Gordon Brown, the聽United聽Nations'聽Special Envoy for Global Education,聽at the聽听颈苍听滨蝉迟补苍产耻濒.听听
鈥淲e believe that this fund聽, because when we ask ourselves what breaks the lives of once thriving young children, it鈥檚 not just the Mediterranean wave that submerged the life vest, it鈥檚 not just the food convoy that does not arrive in Syria, it is also the absence of hope; the soul crushing certainty that there is nothing ahead to plan or prepare for, not even a place in school,鈥� said Mr. Brown, a former聽British prime minister,聽in a statement.听
聽aims to reach at聽least聽13.6 million children over the next five years and 75 million children by 2030, according to聽UNICEF.听聽
As 海角大神's Howard聽LaFranchi聽noted Sunday, "The Education聽Cannot Wait fund is聽perhaps the boldest statement to date聽of a growing conviction within the global aid community 鈥� that the separation between life-saving humanitarian intervention and life-enhancing development assistance makes less and less sense."聽聽
"Traditionally, the two have been different," writes Mr.听LaFranchi. "But as conflicts stretch longer and climate-related disasters intensify, more people are being displaced longer, and humanitarian crises are evolving into development setbacks."聽
Though many聽humanitarians lauded the聽creation of the fund, others were concerned聽its emphasis聽on long-term development will incidentally聽draw away from聽emergency relief.听聽
The聽fund聽aims to address聽the lack聽of聽education funding in聽war zones聽and areas聽recovering from聽natural聽disasters, as only 2聽percent of emergency relief funding goes toward education, according to UNICEF. And聽children not attending school聽are susceptible to human trafficking, labor exploitation聽and extremism, said Brown.听聽
The fund 鈥� to be seeded by governments, international organizations, businesses and philanthropists 鈥� will聽support聽local NGOs聽because they聽can deliver education聽聽than UN agencies or the World Bank, reported the Thomson Reuters Foundation.听聽
The fund is expected to offer up to five years of聽emergency funding for education, and聽encourage philanthropists聽to deliver education in an innovative manner, such as through online courses, according to UNICEF.听It聽will prioritize聽refugee children and children forcibly displaced inside their countries, as well as children living in聽communities hosting them.听聽
Although some said the fund is part of a needed shift in long-term humanitarian relief, Doctors Without Borders, the medical organization,聽abruptly pulled out of the summit,聽because it in part聽feared the summit聽would "short-change" emergency intervention, writes the Monitor's聽LaFranchi.听聽
鈥淲e no longer have any hope that the [summit] will address the weaknesses in humanitarian action and emergency response,鈥� the group said in a statement last week. 鈥淚nstead, the [summit] focus would seem to be an incorporation of humanitarian assistance into a broader development and resilience agenda.鈥澛�
The fund is just one of several broad agenda items world聽leaders are addressing at the two-day summit to solve what Ban Ki-moon, the UN聽Secretary-General, said is the聽.听
