Education Crisis Grips Eastern and Southern Africa

On this International Day of Education, the spotlight is in Eastern and Southern Africa, where a staggering 46 million school-aged children find themselves without access to their fundamental right to inclusive and quality education.

 Shockingly, this region bears the unfortunate distinction of having the highest global rates of learning poverty, with a disheartening nine out of ten children struggling to read and comprehend a simple story by the age of 10. The gravity of the situation is particularly severe for marginalized children, especially those affected by conflict and climate emergencies.

Children enduring the impact of conflict or grappling with climate-related challenges in sub-Saharan Africa face distressing rates of learning poverty.

 Compounding the issue, over half of the world's crisis-affected children reside in this region, yet the support they require remains woefully insufficient. In Madagascar, where cyclones and heatwaves are a regular occurrence, a mere 4% of children attain proficiency in reading and mathematics. Ethiopia, grappling with prolonged crises, reports a disheartening 10% proficiency.

Despite the pressing need to address the amplified impact of crises on children's education, global funding for education in emergencies faces an alarming 70% shortfall in humanitarian appeals on average. This financial gap jeopardizes the education of vulnerable children in conflict and climate-affected regions, depriving them of the essential support needed for learning and recovery.

Climate-induced emergencies, exemplified by historic droughts and the El Niño phenomenon, have expedited the regional learning crisis. In the Horn of Africa, 2.7 million children dropped out of school during severe droughts. Now, contending with the aftermath of El Niño, vulnerable communities in Somalia grapple with riverine and flash floods, displacing 400,000 children and impacting the education of 876,000 more.

Recognizing the severity of the education crisis, the African Union has declared education as the central theme for 2024. UNICEF seizes this occasion to implore member states and the international community to prioritize increased and equitable investments in education. The focus is on ensuring that the most vulnerable children can continue learning while reinforcing resilience-building efforts for future crises. As education remains an indispensable human right, the resounding call is unequivocal: no child should be left behind.
 

_{Source: UNICEF, UN, AU, AVC}