Education Cannot Be Left Behind in Humanitarian Crises

Windle Trust International is proud to stand alongside our partners in endorsing this urgent and timely joint statement from the East and Southern Africa Regional Education in Emergencies (EiE) Working Group. As organisations deeply embedded in the education sector, we are alarmed by the growing marginalisation of education in emergency response planning and funding, despite its critical, life-saving role for children and youth affected by conflict, displacement, and climate shocks.

This joint statement is a unified call to action: education must not be deprioritised. The recent humanitarian funding cuts threaten to undermine hard-won progress in some of the world’s most fragile contexts. Millions of children across East and Southern Africa are at risk of permanent exclusion from learning, protection, and hope.

Education in emergencies is not a luxury. It is a right, a necessity, and a foundation for peace, protection, and long-term recovery. We urge all stakeholders—donors, governments, and humanitarian actors—to reaffirm their commitment and ensure that education remains central to humanitarian response.

You can read the full statement below or download the PDF:

No desks, no roof—no giving up: Children in crisis still show up to learn.

The statement in full

The future of children and youth is at risk as funding cuts force education in emergencies contexts to be deprioritized

Education experts in the East and Southern Africa region are deeply concerned by the impact of funding cuts on education in emergencies contexts and the dire consequences of this to millions of vulnerable children and youth in region affected by conflict, violence and natural disasters.

by East and Southern Africa Regional Education in Emergencies Working Group

25th April 2025

The decision to create a simplified, more efficient humanitarian system as issued in the recent Humanitarian reset letter has meant that education in emergencies is under significant threat of being dropped completely from humanitarian needs and response plans and being remarkably underfunded if it is no longer seen as lifesaving or essential, even though education is often highly prioritized by communities, children and youth themselves.

This shift follows the recent abrupt suspension of aid funding by the Unites States and cuts by other countries, the ramifications of which are already being felt – including on education, as well as linked programs such as food provision, water, sanitation, and health services. Already in South Sudan, for example, 25% of Education Cluster partners have reported the suspension of ongoing projects. A reality that is reflected across the region.

Although the UN Central Emergency Response Fund officially recognized education as a life-saving intervention already in 2010, it has continued to be chronically underfunded in humanitarian responses.

In humanitarian crises, education is often one of the first systems to be disrupted. Crises often lead to the closure or destruction of schools, with some repurposed for military use or emergency shelter. Alternative learning options, such as digital or distance education, are frequently inaccessible or non-inclusive. Without safe learning environments, learners face increased risks of violence, exploitation, and psychological harm, often losing access to vital services like school meals, health care, and psychosocial support. Marginalized groups - including girls, children with disabilities, and displaced learners - are particularly affected, facing heightened levels of protection risks and permanent dropout.

In East and Southern Africa, access to quality education is already severely hampered due to the compounding effects climate change such as droughts and floods, conflicts, displacements, and other factors. Combined, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan host almost 4.5 million refugees and asylum seekers, of which around 3.1 million are children. 85 million children globally are out of school, with 51% percent of them in Sub-Saharan Africa; at least 17 million in Sudan; 9 million in Ethiopia; and 2.8 million in South Sudan (more than half of school-age children).

Education must be seen as a lifesaving intervention that is prioritized in Humanitarian Needs and Response Plans and humanitarian responses as it provides physical and psychosocial protection, reducing such vulnerabilities as exploitation, violence, child labor, early marriage and recruitment into armed groups. Education also offers opportunities for lifesaving knowledge and skills including health, builds resilience and provides a platform for multisectoral responses such as access to clean drinking water, lifesaving vaccines and school feeding by reaching effectively large numbers of children and paying attention to the most vulnerable including those with disabilities.

If education in emergencies is not prioritized, we risk not only the safety and wellbeing of children and youth, but also their futures. We risk deepening cycles of poverty, conflict, instability, and inequality—undermining both immediate humanitarian objectives and long-term recovery and development.

Education is a human right, and it must be continued and defended in any situation.

We urgently call for the prioritization and adequate funding of inclusive, quality education in emergencies initiatives in East and Southern Africa. We further urge Humanitarian Coordinators to actively consult affected populations, Education Clusters and Education in Emergencies working groups in decision-making on response planning and prioritization.

This statement is endorsed by the following members of the East and Southern Africa Regional Education in Emergencies Working Group and Kenya EiE Working Group:

• Finn Church Aid

• Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies

• Jesuit Refugee Service

• Kenya Education in Emergencies Working Group

• Norwegian Refugee Council

• Plan international

• Street Child

• The Lutheran World Federation

• War Child Alliance

• Windle Trust International

• World Vision

More information:

ESAR EiE WG co-leads

Saara Turunen (saara.turunen@kua.fi) and Obed Ombuna (obed.ombuna@jrs.net)