Bold Action Needed to Address Education Crisis in Ethiopia: ECW Calls for Increased Funding
As the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia continues to escalate, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) is calling on donors to step up their commitment to innovative and sustainable financing solutions for education. This appeal came at the conclusion of a high-level mission in Ethiopia, led by ECW Global Champion and Danish Minister of Finance Nicolai Wammen and ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif.
The mission, which aimed to assess the dire educational needs in the country, revealed that nearly 9 million children are currently out of school in Ethiopia—triple the number from 2022. This staggering figure is a result of ongoing violence, climate-induced disasters, and widespread forced displacement, which have all contributed to a severe disruption in education.
Adding to the challenge, about 18% of schools in Ethiopia have been either destroyed or severely damaged. Furthermore, Ethiopia now hosts the third-largest refugee population in Africa, with more than 200,000 new arrivals from Sudan and Somalia in just 2023-2024, placing even greater pressure on the already stretched education system.
During their visit, the ECW delegation traveled to the Tigray region, which is still recovering from a three-year conflict that halted education entirely. There, they visited schools supported by ECW and its partners, witnessing the positive impact of funding from UN agencies, international organizations, and local civil society groups, including UNICEF, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Save the Children, and Imagine1Day.
One success story came from a school in Tigray, where enrollment increased by an impressive 20% last year due to the comprehensive package of interventions funded by ECW. These programs include teacher training, school rehabilitation, and mental health and psychosocial support—critical initiatives in a region recovering from years of conflict.
To further address the urgent educational needs, Sherif announced a new US$5 million First Emergency Response (FER) grant, bringing ECW’s total investments in Ethiopia to over US$93 million since 2017. The new FER grant, with US$4 million allocated to UNICEF and US$1 million to Imagine1Day, will focus on the Oromia and Afar regions, where renewed violence, drought, and displacement have continued to disrupt education services.
These interventions build on the previous US$24 million Multi-Year Resilience Programme announced by ECW, which is targeting the Amhara, Somali, and Tigray regions to ensure children’s access to education even in the face of ongoing crises.
To date, ECW’s investments have supported over 550,000 children and adolescents in Ethiopia, providing vital resources such as school rehabilitation, inclusive education programs, school feeding, and gender-transformative initiatives. Special focus has been given to the most vulnerable populations, including girls, children from refugee and displaced communities, and children with disabilities.
However, despite these efforts, there is still a significant funding gap. ECW is urgently calling for an additional US$64 million to meet the acute education needs outlined in the 2024 Ethiopia Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP). Without increased donor support, the future of millions of children in Ethiopia remains uncertain, as they continue to face barriers to accessing quality education.
Source: africanews
