Education Cannot Wait Announces $20 Million Grant to Support Children's Resilience in Chad
Education Cannot Wait (ECW) has recently recognized the urgent educational needs in Chad by announcing a substantial $20 million catalytic grant aimed at enhancing resilience among vulnerable children in this West African nation. With more than one-third of Chad’s population requiring humanitarian assistance, this funding is both timely and crucial. The recent escalation of crises, including the ongoing conflict in neighboring Sudan, local community disputes, and adverse effects of climate change, has left approximately 3.2 million children without access to education.
The grant will be provided through UNICEF, coordinated with the Chadian government and a network of local and international partners. This initiative is set to impact around 66,000 children and adolescents affected by these multi-faceted crises. Notably, this grant increases ECW’s financial contributions to Chad to over $61 million, which has benefited more than 880,000 children. The new funding will play a pivotal role in the Humanitarian Response Plan for Chad, which requires an approximate $28.2 million to meet educational needs—indicating that nearly 50% of the humanitarian call for assistance remains unmet.
Yasmine Sherif, the Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait, emphasized the importance of this initiative as it aligns with Chad’s commendable efforts to integrate refugee children into its national education system. However, she underlined the pressing need for additional financial resources from the public and private sectors to ensure that these efforts continue and expand. The challenging situation in Chad requires a collaborative approach to ensure that quality learning environments and protective measures are accessible to both refugee and local children.
Mamadou Gana Boukar, Chad’s Minister of National Education and Civic Promotion, highlighted that the support from the Resilience Multi-Year Program plays a critical role in addressing immediate educational challenges, while also indirectly fostering socio-economic development in the affected regions. In light of this funding boost, he has called for ongoing support for urgent educational needs.
Chad presently houses over 1.7 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), among whom 1.2 million are refugees fleeing violence. The intersection of forced displacement, food insecurity, healthcare emergencies, and climate-related risks significantly exacerbates the educational crisis, thwarting the nation’s goals for universal education. It is reported that around 3.2 million children and adolescents remain out of school. Compounding the challenges, those who do attend often face subpar educational quality, high dropout rates due to unaffordable enrollment fees, and increasingly perilous conditions driven by climate extremes.
UNICEF acknowledged the critical support from ECW in addressing the needs of school-aged children caught in complex crises in Chad. The second phase of the Resilience Multi-Year Program seeks to ensure all children have access to inclusive and quality education—an initiative that will significantly enhance the resilience of the education system in Chad, especially in the Ouaddaï and Logone Oriental provinces in the coming years.
The new grant aims to ensure that over 40% of the 66,600 targeted children are refugees. Furthermore, it plans to train over 1,500 teachers on conflict mitigation, mental health, and pedagogical strategies. Targeting vulnerable girls and children with disabilities, this program exemplifies a holistic approach to education amidst crises.
In summary, Education Cannot Wait's initiative is a vital step in providing educational opportunities for children in Chad—those who stand at the intersection of conflict, humanitarian need, and aspiration for a better future. Calls for broader financial support from both public and private sectors continue, as the education system in Chad confronts unprecedented challenges. Together, the global community and local stakeholders can leverage this funding to effect meaningful change in the lives of countless young people in Chad, ensuring that no child is left behind in the pursuit of a brighter future.
The grant will be provided through UNICEF, coordinated with the Chadian government and a network of local and international partners. This initiative is set to impact around 66,000 children and adolescents affected by these multi-faceted crises. Notably, this grant increases ECW’s financial contributions to Chad to over $61 million, which has benefited more than 880,000 children. The new funding will play a pivotal role in the Humanitarian Response Plan for Chad, which requires an approximate $28.2 million to meet educational needs—indicating that nearly 50% of the humanitarian call for assistance remains unmet.
Yasmine Sherif, the Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait, emphasized the importance of this initiative as it aligns with Chad’s commendable efforts to integrate refugee children into its national education system. However, she underlined the pressing need for additional financial resources from the public and private sectors to ensure that these efforts continue and expand. The challenging situation in Chad requires a collaborative approach to ensure that quality learning environments and protective measures are accessible to both refugee and local children.
Mamadou Gana Boukar, Chad’s Minister of National Education and Civic Promotion, highlighted that the support from the Resilience Multi-Year Program plays a critical role in addressing immediate educational challenges, while also indirectly fostering socio-economic development in the affected regions. In light of this funding boost, he has called for ongoing support for urgent educational needs.
Chad presently houses over 1.7 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), among whom 1.2 million are refugees fleeing violence. The intersection of forced displacement, food insecurity, healthcare emergencies, and climate-related risks significantly exacerbates the educational crisis, thwarting the nation’s goals for universal education. It is reported that around 3.2 million children and adolescents remain out of school. Compounding the challenges, those who do attend often face subpar educational quality, high dropout rates due to unaffordable enrollment fees, and increasingly perilous conditions driven by climate extremes.
UNICEF acknowledged the critical support from ECW in addressing the needs of school-aged children caught in complex crises in Chad. The second phase of the Resilience Multi-Year Program seeks to ensure all children have access to inclusive and quality education—an initiative that will significantly enhance the resilience of the education system in Chad, especially in the Ouaddaï and Logone Oriental provinces in the coming years.
The new grant aims to ensure that over 40% of the 66,600 targeted children are refugees. Furthermore, it plans to train over 1,500 teachers on conflict mitigation, mental health, and pedagogical strategies. Targeting vulnerable girls and children with disabilities, this program exemplifies a holistic approach to education amidst crises.
In summary, Education Cannot Wait's initiative is a vital step in providing educational opportunities for children in Chad—those who stand at the intersection of conflict, humanitarian need, and aspiration for a better future. Calls for broader financial support from both public and private sectors continue, as the education system in Chad confronts unprecedented challenges. Together, the global community and local stakeholders can leverage this funding to effect meaningful change in the lives of countless young people in Chad, ensuring that no child is left behind in the pursuit of a brighter future.
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