This week, Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the UN Fund for Education in Emergencies, announced a US$ 10 million 12-month grant in support of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and UNICEF to provide children in Gaza with life-saving mental health and psychosocial support and access to protective learning process.
The ECW grant will be delivered by UNRWA and UNICEF in the Gaza Strip, and will significantly contribute to safeguarding the basic right to education for children and youth in the Strip, even during times of active conflict. The First Emergency Response (FER) will focus on ensuring access to safe and secure learning environments, and providing education interventions to promote the safety and well-being of learners, teachers and other education personnel. This includes mental health and psychosocial support, and ensuring linkages to protection services, such as access to health, nutrition and food.
Nearly 73 percent of those reported killed in the Gaza Strip are children and women. Save the Children reported on 29 October that nearly 3,200 children were killed in Gaza in just three weeks. This surpasses the number of children killed annually across the world’s conflict zones since 2019.
“Children in Gaza are enduring horrific violence and adversity. I call on all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law, protect children, teachers, and schools from attacks, and immediately allow safe and unimpeded humanitarian access for aid to be delivered,” said Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait, the UN global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises. “It is crucial to quickly provide children with safe and protected learning opportunities to restore a sense of normalcy in their lives and ensure access to holistic life-saving services, including immediate mental health and psychosocial support which is essential to help them cope with the severe trauma they have experienced,” she said.
Expressing his appreciation for this vital contribution, Mr. Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, said:
“The children in Gaza have gone through hell and have paid an unprecedented price in this war. Psychological support and education offer children a sense of hope. Together, let us ensure that every child in Gaza has the chance to learn, to dream, and to build a better future. They deserve nothing less. Thank you for standing in solidarity with Gaza’s children.”
Since making its first contribution to UNRWA in 2018, ECW has consistently provided financial support to UNRWA through ECW’s various funding windows. In moments of the pandemic and conflicts, ECW through supporting UNRWA Education in Emergencies (EiE) programme, contributed to UNRWA’s endeavour in advancing the rights and equitable access to quality education for more than half a million Palestine Refugee children.
