Team Europe pledges €313 million to Education Cannot Wait

The European Commission and EU Member States, as Team Europe, pledged today to invest €313 million in 'Education Cannot Wait', the United Nations global fund that helps reach vulnerable crisis-affected children with immediate and longer-term education support. This is the biggest contribution to the Fund.

The European Union and ‘Education Cannot Wait' both promote access to high-quality education for the children most left behind, and seek to make education investments more effective and sustainable by bridging the gap between humanitarian and development interventions, in line with the commitments of the Transforming Education Summit.

The funding through ‘Education Cannot Wait' complements other EU support to promote quality education for children and young people in emergencies and protracted crises and to increase resilience of education systems in partner countries. The EU education investments in fragile countries during the period 2021–2027 will reach €3.2 billion, from the EU budget.

I am very proud that Team Europe is the leading contributor to 'Education Cannot Wait'. The COVID19 pandemic caused an education crisis in many parts of the world, but children that are suffering a crisis have been most affected. The EU, as an Education Champion, is committed to invest more and better in education, including in emergencies and crises, in line with the commitments taken at the Transforming Education Summit. Education Cannot Wait is a key partner in reaching the world’s 222 million crisis-hit children. I am pleased to confirm that, given the urgency, the €25 million pledge of the European Commission will be made available as of this year.

Jutta Urpilainen, Commissioner for International Partnerships

Background

‘Education Cannot Wait' (ECW) is the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises. Active in 31 countries, ‘Education Cannot Wait' has already supported 6.9 million children and young people.

Germany is the single largest contributor to ‘Education Cannot Wait', with €210 million for the period 2023–2026. Other Member States contributing to the overall Team Europe pledge are Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Spain and Italy. The Commission has funded Education Cannot Wait with €27.5 million since its launch, and will now make available an additional €25 million for 2023–2027.

The European Union remains firmly committed to accelerating progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) on quality education. The EU institutions and Member States together contribute more than half of all global aid to education, supporting the education sector in more than 100 countries around the world.