Education in emergencies: Ministry obtains USD 20 million from ECW

The United Nations Global Fund for Education in Emergencies and Protracted Crises, Education Cannot Wait (ECW), is providing funding to the Ministry of National Education and New Citizenship.

The announcement was made during a working session on Thursday, July 11, 2024, between the Minister of National Education and New Citizenship, Raïssa Malu, and an ECW delegation led by its Deputy Director, Graham Lang.

This support aims to ensure that children in humanitarian emergencies across the country can return to school under appropriate conditions. Minister Malu and ECW are counting on the development of a national strategy, which will soon be operational, to guarantee access to education in emergency situations, particularly for the hundreds of thousands of children whose schooling has been disrupted due to the instability caused by armed conflicts, especially in the eastern part of the DRC. Children living in humanitarian emergencies will thus regain access to quality education thanks to this new three-year funding program, valued at USD 20 million. The Minister of National Education emphasized during the meeting the need to align the priorities of this new program with those of the government. She mentioned, among other things, the aforementioned national strategy for education in emergency situations, as well as capacity building for education administration at the national and provincial levels. Satisfied with this meeting, the ECW delegation, led by its deputy director, is now open to collaboration with the Ministry of National Education and New Citizenship. It should be noted that approximately 300,000 children dropped out of school in 2023 in the DRC after their schools closed due to armed conflicts or natural disasters. Reintegrating these children into the education system is a major challenge that the Ministry and its partners are determined to address. Glodi Mboma