Organizations Applaud U.S. Government for $12 Million Commitment to Education Cannot Wait
Washington, D.C., October 1, 2019 – As world leaders gathered at last week’s United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City, the U.S. Government joined other public and private donors to support education programs for children and youth around the world affected by conflict and crisis.
As organizations committed to making a difference in the lives of more than 70 million refugees and forcibly displaced persons around the world, we applaud the U.S. Government for making a new $12 million commitment to Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the first global, multilateral fund for education in emergencies.
This commitment is in addition to a $21 million U.S. contribution made in 2016 at the launch of ECW, for a total of $33 million from the U.S. to-date. We are grateful for this show of support for ECW and look forward to continuing to build on these investments in the future.
Other donors pledging new funding at UNGA included Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the LEGO Foundation, and ProFuturo, for a total of $216 million in pledges for Education Cannot Wait.
Since its inception in 2016, Education Cannot Wait has invested in 32 countries, reaching more than 1.5 million children and youth – half of them girls. The Fund works with a range of stakeholders – governments, UN agencies, private sector and philanthropic actors, civil society organizations, and affected communities.
The U.S. Government has been a key ECW partner since its inception, and we encourage continued support for education in emergencies as a life-saving humanitarian intervention.
Both the House and Senate FY20 State & Foreign Operations Appropriations bills also include allocations for Education Cannot Wait, which we believe are critical in ensuring long-term, sustainable support. This funding should not detract from current humanitarian and development funding, nor from global basic education programs that are part of development assistance including bilateral programs and contributions to the Global Partnership for Education.
For more information, please contact Giulia McPherson, Director of Advocacy & Operations, Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, and Global Campaign for Education-US Chair, Education in Emergencies Advocacy Working Group, at giulia.mcpherson@jrsusa.org or 202-629-5942.