UNICEF Contribution to Education in Humanitarian Situations

Humanitarian crises pose a critical threat to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, including Goal 4 which calls for inclusive and equitable quality education for all and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. As of 2018, approximately 128 million children and young people living in crisis-affected countries were out of school globally, 67 million of whom were girls. The already dire situation grew even more critical in light of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), with an estimated 1.29 billion children in 186 countries affected by school closures as of May 2020. The right to education is under threat as never before, requiring a predictable, timely and effective response that ensures children have equitable access to quality learning in all contexts and at all stages of education.

Sustainable Development Goal 4 represents a paradigm shift for the global education community, from a focus on ensuring access to primary education in the era of the Millennium Development Goals, to ensuring access, participation, equity and learning for all stages of education. Across the Sustainable Development Goals, there is an emphasis on strengthening the link between humanitarian and development work; this requires attention to building safer and more equitable education systems, while ensuring well-coordinated national, regional and global systems to prepare for and respond to emergencies.

The World Humanitarian Summit, held in 2016, also injected new life into the global education architecture with the establishment of Education Cannot Wait, a new global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises. The birth of this fund and a package of reforms on humanitarian financing known as the Grand Bargain2 represented a renewed commitment to education in humanitarian contexts, although funding levels remain significantly short of what is needed.

Within this overall framework and as part of its mandate for children, UNICEF work in education in emergencies is guided by its corporate strategic objectives, its education strategy, and the Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action. For a part of the evaluation period, UNICEF work in education in emergencies fell under the UNICEF Strategic Plan, 2014–2017. Another part of the evaluation period falls under the subsequent Strategic Plan, 2018–2021, which is aimed at responding to the paradigm shift noted above, wherein the focus on access to primary education was expanded to ensuring access, equity and learning for all ages and stages of education.