Four new donor contributions to Education Cannot Wait

At the “Global Goal: Unite for our Future” concert and summit events – presented by Global Citizen in partnership with the European Commission, top artists and global leaders – the Government of Finland and Verizon committed funding to Education Cannot Wait, joining others to highlight the importance of education in building resilience to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the commitments made at the Global Citizen events, a total of over US$10 million in funding to Education Cannot Wait (ECW) was announced this week alone.

The new funding will support efforts to provide crisis-affected children and youth – already impacted by armed conflicts, forced displacement, natural disasters, and protracted crises and now doubly hit by COVID-19 – with the safety, hope, and opportunity of an education. This crucial funding expands ECW’s education in emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic and supports its ongoing efforts to achieve universal and equitable education by 2030 in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

During the Global Citizen livestream event, Finland’s Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, Mr. Ville Skinnari, announced €3 million (approximately US$3.3 million) in new funding to ECW. This is the first commitment to ECW by the Government of Finland.

“In Finland, we believe in education. Education for everyone, everywhere, including in emergencies. That’s why, this year, we pledge 3 million euros to Education Cannot Wait,” said Skinnari.

One of the world’s largest companies, US-based telecommunication provider Verizon, also committed US$1 million to Education Cannot Wait during the event, joining other private sector partners increasingly concerned with the need for education in emergencies.

“One of the areas most transformed by COVID-19 is education. That’s why during this pandemic, Verizon has extended our long-term commitment to students and teachers. Today, we continue our support for education by supporting Education Cannot Wait,” said Hans Vestberg, Chairman and CEO, Verizon.

In addition to these announcements, earlier this week, the Government of Canada announced an additional CAD$5.5 million (approximately US$4 million) contribution to ECW to address the urgent educational needs of refugees and refugee-hosting communities, and adolescent girls in secondary school, including support to distance learning and teacher training. This contribution brings Canada’s overall support to ECW to over US$56 million. The United States also pledged US $2.3 million in additional funding to ECW, expanding its pledges and contributions to over US$60 million to date. The funding will be dedicated to scale-up the education in emergency response in Burkina Faso and will provide 43,390 children (including 26,034 girls) with formal and non-formal education in a safe, inclusive, and quality environment.

“This continued and growing support from Canada, Finland, the United States, and Verizon is profoundly appreciated and is, we hope, recognition that ECW is delivering results and making a real difference for children and youth left furthest behind,” said Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait. 

ECW’s education in emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic focuses on ensuring continuous access to education, including distance, online and radio learning; information campaigns, risk communications and community engagement in local languages, including psychosocial and mental health support; and, water and sanitation facility upgrades in schools and learning centers as a first line of defense. ECW has already reached over 3.4 million crisis-affected children and youth, and mobilized more than US$650 million since its inception just over three years ago.

Original source: Education Cannot Wait
Published on 27 June 2020