Doha, Qatar: Two million children from conflict areas will receive primary education as a result of a partnership between Education Above All’s Educate A Child programme (EAC) and the UK Department for International Development.
The five-year agreement signed in London will benefit refugees and internally displaced children in Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, South Sudan, Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana. Almost 30 percent of the 59 million out-of-school children globally live in these countries.
H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Founder and Chairperson of EAA and Rt. Hon. Justine Greening, MP, Secretary of State for International Development, witnessed the signing of the agreement.
Sheikha Moza stressed the importance of dedicating resources specifically to support children affected by the Syrian crisis and advocated support of alternative educational approaches and modalities to the traditional education system to alleviate some of the barriers to accessing education.
Fahad Al Sulaiti, CEO, EAA, said, “Primary education is a fundamental right, but millions of children across the globe have no access to quality education. We are thrilled to be partnering with the UK government, which is a powerful agent for change in the developing world, on this endeavour.
“We hope that others will be inspired by the example set by EAC and the department and invest in the future of the world’s children.”
The partnership is an innovative way to tackle funding for education. Each side will operate according to its strengths – the department will focus on funding government systems, and EAC on funding local and international NGOs and UN agency projects — to maximise the pledge’s impact for the world’s most vulnerable children.
EAA invests $100 per child so that, together with our partners, we can provide quality primary education for some of the world’s most hard-to-reach children.
Desmond Swayne, Minister of State at the department, said, “Investing in education is fundamental to tackling extreme poverty and building secure, sustainable communities. For children, an education is their first step to being able to take control of their lives and build the future they want. No child should miss out on this opportunity simply because of where they happen to be born.
“The UK has helped give a quarter of a million children affected by the Syria crisis an education and the Syria conference aims to achieve this for all children in the region. Our partnership with EAA will ensure that vulnerable children in low-income and developing countries and those affected by conflict, don’t miss out on the chance to go to school and the hope for a better future.”
EAC and DFID will also collaborate on global advocacy, financing and delivering education programmes, conducting research and coordinating organisational capacity and professional development programmes.
© The Peninsula 2016
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