Stronger international support urgently needed to improve access to higher education for young refugees

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency launched on May 28 a new campaign called ‘Aiming Higher’ seeking to enable talented refugees to get into higher education by funding their scholarships for university and technical skills training. The fundraising campaign aims to address the urgent and massive need among young refugees. It coincides with the 70th anniversary year of UNHCR and 70 years of the 1951 Refugee Convention, the bedrock of international refugee protection.

Across the world, only 3 percent of young refugees are enrolled in some form of higher education. This is shockingly low and UNHCR aims to increase that proportion to 15 percent by 2030. The Aiming Higher campaign will contribute to the achievement of this goal.

Currently, UNHCR’s refugee tertiary scholarship program (DAFI) is heavily underfunded. The current budget for the program for the campaign’s duration (2021-2023) is $75 million. At present, private and government funding contributions for this period are at $52 million, leaving a funding gap of $23 million to reach our projected goals by 2023.

Aiming Higher calls on the private sector to bridge this gap and help raise the additional capital. If realized, this contribution will fund 1,800 refugee scholars for their entire higher education and meet UNHCR’s target of 9,200 scholars enrolled and studying at any one time by 2023.

“Access to higher education is life-changing. For refugees, it can be a chance to take control of their futures and give back to their communities. One of the most meaningful ways we can support young refugees is to help make those opportunities more widely available,” said Kelly T. Clements, Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees

Aiming Higher is inspired by the vision of the Global Compact on Refugees and is consistent with the pledge to “leave no one behind” in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In just a few short months, the campaign has sparked an unprecedented response, raising $4 million from more than a dozen individual and corporate donors since its launch in December 2020. Significant donors to date include CTP, the BNP Paribas Foundation, and Hikma Pharmaceuticals.

Higher education is key to creating long-term growth in low and middle-income countries, underlining the importance of the Aiming Higher campaign. According to the World Bank, economic returns for college graduates are the highest in the entire educational system with an average 17% increase in earnings per year of schooling.

Those with a quality post-secondary education are more employable, earn higher wages and cope better with economic shocks. With the Aiming Higher campaign, UNHCR is urging the private sector to be part of the effort to give young refugees the chance they need to build their own futures. It is an investment with life-changing returns.