The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | UNICEF , UNOG , UNITED NATIONS
UNOG Bi-Weekly Press Briefing: 128 Million Children In Need Of Education - ECW
As the number of children and youth in desperate need of education skyrockets with the Covid-19 pandemic, ECW (Education Cannot Wait) welcomes significant new funding from Germany
The number of children who have lost access to education across the world has almost doubled since before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the head of the global UN fund that deals with delivering education in emergency situations.
Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW), said that as recently as 2016, the number of “children and youth who did not access education because of conflict and crisis and refuge were estimated at 75 million, of whom 39 million were girls. Today, as a result of Covid-19, we have reached a number of 128 million children and youth, half of them girls, who are not accessing education.”
Speaking at a press briefing at the UN in Geneva, Ms. Sherif thanked the people and government of Germany who announced yesterday, on International Day for Education, Monday 24 January, an additional contribution of 200 million Euro in funding for Education Cannot Wait (ECW), reaching a total of 318 Euro million in funding from Germany.
“Education is key to tackle the challenges of our time. Sustainable development, environmental transformation and social cohesion, just to name a few. However, Covid-19 has threatened all progress we have made. We experienced a huge backlash, and this is also true with education” said Katharina Stasch, the Ambassador of Germany to the UN in Geneva.
The new funding brings the ECW’s total Trust Fund to over USD 1.1 billion for crisis-affected children and youth – a seemingly large number but nowhere near what is still needed to address the problem on a global scale.
With over USD 1 billion leveraged through ECW in-country programmes, this makes ECW a more than 2-billion USD global fund in just a few short years since its establishment.
“Thanks to the German contribution, we broke that record yesterday,” Ms. Sherif said.
“We are making a difference to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” Ms. Sherif added, in an urgent plea for partners to step up and pledge an addition one billion USD to meet emergency education needs. “And we call on all member states in the U.N., host governments to cooperate with us, governments who are able to provide the funding, and many are private sectors, please help us reach the next funding target: USD 1 billion”, the ECW Director added.
Germany is currently the top contributor to ECW, followed by the United Kingdom and Denmark.
-ends-
- Exterior wide shot, United Nations Palace of Nations, Geneva. UN flags flying.
- Wide shot of press room UN Geneva.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW): “Back then, the estimated children and youth who did not access education because of conflict and crisis and refuge were estimated at 75 million, of whom 39 million were girls. That was back in 2016. Today, as a result of COVID-19, we have reached a number of 128 million children and youth, half of them girls, who are not accessing education.”
- Cutaway, Wide Shot of press room
- SOUNDBITE (English) Ambassador Katharina Stasch, Germany's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva: “Education is key to tackle the challenges of our time. Sustainable development, environmental transformation and social cohesion, just to name a few. However, COVID-19 has threatened all progress we have made. We experienced a huge backlash, and this is also true with education.”
- Cutaway, Close shot of cameraman
- SOUNDBITE (English) Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW): “Thanks to the German contribution, we broke that record yesterday. USD 1.1 billion in our Trust Fund and an additional excess of 1 billion in income through missions against our programs, making Education Cannot Wait (ECW) an over USD 2 billion fund in less than five years.“
- Cutaway, Medium lateral shot of speakers at podium
- SOUNDBITE (English) Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW): “We are making a difference to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. And we call on all member states in the U.N., host governments to cooperate with us, governments who are able to provide the funding, and many are private sector, please help us reach the next funding target: USD 1 billion.”
- Cutaway, Medium shot of participants
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNIFIL
UN Security Council meets amid rising Israel-Hezbollah tensions in Lebanon.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the biweekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights spokesperson made the following remarks deplored the death in State custody of Brooklyn Rivera in Nicaragua.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Lebanon: Tyre hospital strikes leave patients without critical care – WHO
The UN health agency in Lebanon is verifying reports of strikes on a hospital in the southern city of Tyre on Monday, amid a concerning rise in attacks on healthcare in the country.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
El Niño confirmed, extreme weather events will be more intense, says WMO
The UN urged all countries on Tuesday to bolster early warning systems after confirming the onset of El Niño, warning that the Pacific Ocean-warming phenomenon will bring above-average temperatures “nearly everywhere” and fuel more extreme weather.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
‘A disease you get when you care for someone’: on the frontlines of the Ebola crisis with WHO
Two weeks into the latest Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) is estimating that there are 906 suspected cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including 223 suspected deaths.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on 29 May called for more robust measures by both states and tech companies to make online platforms safer for children, insisting on effective regulation, oversight and accountability. The digital world that connects children to learning, community and creativity also expose them to real risks, to their safety, to their privacy, and to their well-being. Online harms to kids’ safety, privacy, and well-being are not innate or inevitable.
See High Commissioner video: https://media.un.org/unifeed/en/asset/d357/d3579089
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , WHO
Gaza: Life-saving medicines blocked as killing continues, disease gains ground
In Gaza, a dire humanitarian situation marked by continuing violence, rodent infestations and the spread of diseases is being made worse by blockages of essential medical supplies, UN agencies warned on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights spokesperson Shabia Mantoo, warned against the continuing trend of involuntary returns of Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers from host countries to Afghanistan, in violation of international human rights and refugee law, at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | IFRC , OHCHR
Lebanon's first responders face high risks amid conflict, with 116 killed since March.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC Ebola outbreak: hundreds of suspected cases, no vaccine
A fast-spreading Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has health workers rushing to stop transmission while the roll out of any potential vaccine is months away, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
A UN Human Rights Office report released today covers 19 months of large-scale violations of international law including atrocity crimes, from October 2023 to the end of May 2025.