UN education officials call for urgent action for Gaza children

Education officials at the UN urged governments and donors on Thursday to step up support for children caught in conflicts and disasters, highlighting the devastating effect of the war in the Gaza Strip on access to education.

Gordon Brown, the UN special envoy for global education, said hundreds of millions of children worldwide are being denied education because of conflict, displacement and climate-related disasters.

“Instead of the world developing only some of the potential of some children in some countries, we must be determined to develop the potential of all children,” Brown told reporters at a UN briefing.

He highlighted Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of children remain out of school, and tens of thousands of young children have no access to preschool.

Maysa Jalbout, director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW), which touts itself as the first global fund dedicated to education in emergencies, said the organization was committing $3 million in emergency funding for vulnerable children in Gaza, including those with conflict-related injuries and disabilities.

The program is expected to reach up to 13,000 children and will be implemented through local organizations.

Jalbout said Gaza has more child amputees per capita than anywhere in the world, underscoring the severe toll the conflict has taken on children.

ECW is also responding to disasters elsewhere. In Nepal, where floods and landslides recently damaged or destroyed 29 schools, the organization committed $1 million to help children return to learning.

Jalbout said the crises in Gaza and Nepal are different, but the consequences for children can be similar: “School stops, protection disappears, and the future is put on hold.”

ECW is seeking $600 million in new funding to reach 10 million more children affected by crises worldwide.