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Africa: Children in areas of conflict get little help for education, new report shows
12 April 2007
Save the Children (Washington, DC)
The world’s richest countries are failing to help millions of children in conflict-affected nations get an education, a new Save the Children report reveals today, ahead of a series of crucial world donor meetings. For example, in the Sudanese region of Darfur, over 50 percent of children are out of school, many forced from their homes due to violence, but almost no funding has been provided specifically to educate these children.
The new report, "Last in line, last in school" shows that most donor nations prioritize education assistance to more stable countries over those affected by conflict, leaving millions of children in conflict-affected countries with little hope of breaking the cycle of poverty and conflict, despite pledges from donor countries to ensure that every child receives an education by 2015. The study is based on an analysis of education aid reported by donor countries to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA.)
Although the number of out-of-school primary-age children in the world has dramatically fallen from over 100 million to 77 million in recent years, the situation in countries affected by conflict has seen little improvement. Indeed, they are home to 39 million children who may never see the inside of a classroom. This means that unless these children are reached, the Millennium Development Goal of primary education for all will remain out of reach.
The report reveals that:
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Overall funding for education is low: Of 22 donor countries that made pledges at the 2005 G8 Summit, only Netherlands and Norway are contributing their fair share of funds to achieve education for every child by 2015. There is currently a $9 billion funding gap that is the difference between giving every child the chance to go to school by 2015 and leaving millions behind. The U.S. ranks 20th among 22 countries in contributing its fair share.
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The United States allocates about 3 percent of its development assistance to education. Of this amount, 40 percent of aid to education goes to assist countries in conflict—a higher percentage than any other donor country. The bulk of U.S. aid to educate children in areas of conflict goes to Iraq and Afghanistan. Among all developing countries, Iraq receives the most education aid from the U.S.
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Donors give the least amount of aid for education to the countries most in need of it – conflict-affected countries. Overall, 49 percent of aid for education goes towards middle-income countries, 33 percent to low-income countries, and a only 18 percent to conflict-affected countries. Conflict-affected countries receive less than a fifth of global education aid, despite being home to 39 million out of 77 million children missing out on education.
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Donors’ restrictive aid criteria for funding prevents education aid from reaching conflict- affected countries.
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