By Eric Ojo
As part of its response to the recent deadly earthquake in Turkey and Syria, Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the United Nations (UN) global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, has announced a $7 million First Emergency Response Grant for Syria.
The grant which was announced in Geneva, will provide children impacted by the quake with life-saving access to education in Syria.
More than 33,000 people have already lost their lives in the 7.8 earthquake. In Syria, where one of the world’s most complex humanitarian crisis was already affecting the lives and futures of millions of children – the quake will push even more girls and boys out of school.
Schools, hospitals and other vital facilities have been destroyed, children have lost their homes and loves ones, and families already displaced by the decade-long conflict are now facing life-threatening risks as temperatures drop below freezing and coping mechanisms are pushed to the edge.
The new funding builds on ECW’s $48.5 million in grants in Syria since 2017, which have already reached more than 360,000 children.
The new grant will provide access to temporary safe spaces, provision of psycho-social and well-being support for children and teachers, and other life-saving holistic education supports for the girls and boys impacted by the quake.
In addition, it will also provide a broader framework for other donors to support the response in Syria, similar to modalities being deployed in Ukraine.
Executive Director of ECW, Yasmine Sherif expressed empathy with the families who have lost loved ones in this tragic quake.
“Our hearts go out to the families who have lost loved ones in this tragic quake. Along with our strategic partners, ECW is committed to ensuring the girls and boys impacted by this devastating earthquake are able to access safe and protective learning environments and receive essential psycho-social and well-being support they need to recover from this terrible tragedy”, she said.
To amplify the impact of the grant and accelerate the global education response, ECW equally called on world leaders to provide matching funds at this week’s ECW High-Level Financing Conference in Geneva.
“At ECW’s High-Level Financing Conference on 16-17 February in Geneva, Switzerland, world leaders have the opportunity to support ECW’s mission to reach those left furthest behind and expand support for crisis-impacted children in places like Syria and beyond”, she added.
