Education Cannot Wait.
World’s leading NGOs demand action on education in emergencies at Oslo Education Summit on July 7th.All children have a right to education. Yet, 58 million children are out-of-school and more than half of these children live in conflict and emergency settings. Schools and school children are continually under attack.
Education — safe places to play and learn — should be a priority investment in times of emergencies and protracted crisis. However education is often the first thing sacrificed and the last thing rebuilt. The responsibility for providing education to those children whose lives literally depend on it, continues to slip through the cracks between development financing and emergency humanitarian aid.
In 2014 only 1% of overall humanitarian aid in 2014 went to education.
Generations of displaced and refugee children are losing their right to rebuild their lives and communities. Despite recent efforts to protect education from attack, far more is needed to protect millions of children and their futures.
Call to Action: We Need a Fund for Education in Emergencies.
The education of an estimated 65 million children age 3-15 is disrupted as a result of wars, natural disasters and other emergencies. These children are out-of-school, at risk of dropping out or suffer from poor quality education and learning. Over 20 million are out-of-school primary school-age children. But last year, only 1% of humanitarian aid went to education.
We cannot stand by while children are shut out from opportunity due to conflicts and emergencies. We must bring new and immediate finance to deliver education alongside protection and other essential social services.
On July 7th, there is a unique opportunity for bold action on education as world leaders attend the Oslo Summit on Education for Development.
We, the undersigned organisations, call upon world leaders at the Oslo Summit to publicly commit to the creation of a Global Humanitarian Fund for Education in Emergencies to protect the most vulnerable children and get them back in school. The fund must strengthen existing mechanisms, rapidly coordinate and deliver education in emergencies, and leverage new finance. World leaders must create this fund in 2015 if we are to keep our promise to children and the right to education.
We hope this call to action leads to a process of robust technical analysis and wide consultation to determine how best to secure more and better funding for education in emergencies
World leaders have said “Education Cannot Wait,” and must now take action to keep the promise to the most marginalised and vulnerable children.
We the undersigned call for action so that all children everywhere will be able to realise their right to education.
BackgroundFor more information read the education in emergencies background paper: http://www.osloeducationsummit
 In 2014, only 1.1% of humanitarian aid went to education (FTS UNOCHA). In the same year education received less than 2% of total humanitarian aid committed through emergency appeals (EFA Global Monitoring Report)