When you think about the needs to respond to when a humanitarian emergency arises, such as an earthquake or war, the first thing that comes to mind is that the population will need food, shelter, water or sanitation equipment.
They are logical and urgent priorities, but not the only ones.
Education, a right that is already taken for granted in most of the world, becomes an unattainable desire for boys and girls when it competes with other needs in a context of crisis.
And yet, for them, going to school and continuing to learn is a respite and a life jacket.
“Between the bombs, the attacks, the fear and the uncertainty, continuing to go to school has been my only lifeline,” says Aleks, a 14-year-old boy from the city of Kherson.
There, they not only train, but they interact with their peers, they are in a space where they are cared for and protected from further violence, such as trafficking or kidnappings, and they can share their experiences freely.
It is some normality within the daily chaos.
Therefore, the right to education should be one of the first things that childhood should recover in these situations.
Ukraine has been at war for two years now.
During this time, 3,798 schools have been damaged by attacks and 365 completely destroyed, which constitutes 13% of the educational infrastructure.
Furthermore, needs in this area have increased by 30% between 2022 and 2023.
At the same time, spending on education in 2023 has reached 5% of the country's GDP, with an increase of 14.3% compared to the previous year.
That is to say, despite the conflict, the State has continued to support this sector.
Added to the public investment are the funds contributed by the international community, which have reached 100 million euros, an amount that has managed to cover 71% of the identified needs.
This international investment has made Ukraine become the country in crisis with the largest financial endowment from abroad in the educational sector.
Thanks to all these investments and the priority given to education, both nationally and internationally, improvements with real impact have been achieved.
For example, since January 2023, the proportion of schools with shelters has increased from 68% to 80%, while the proportion of schools offering fully in-person learning has increased from 25% to 57%.
These two advances have positive effects on the lives of children and adolescents, since they will allow them to have safe and protective centers that return them to the routine they knew and that they long for.
Education has only received 4% of the total humanitarian appeals, while the Global Campaign for Education demands that this percentage be 10% to respond adequately.
Furthermore, Ukraine is the country in crisis that is best placed to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4), which aims to guarantee equitable, inclusive and quality education.
Specifically, it has achieved the literacy indicator and the secondary school completion indicator, although there are still some pending challenges such as the primary enrollment rate.
Keeping in mind the case of Ukraine, is the international commitment to the right to education the same in all countries experiencing emergency contexts?
The answer is no.
Quite the contrary, of the 35 countries and territories with humanitarian appeals in 2023, 88% (30 of them) are quite or very far from achieving SDG4 and for four there is not even information (Lebanon, Haiti, Somalia and Libya). .
The funding gap for education in emergencies has continued to increase.
If in the last decade, demands for the education sector have multiplied by seven, disbursements have only increased by four.
To date, education has only received 4% of total humanitarian appeals, while the Global Campaign for Education demands that this percentage be 10% to respond adequately.
With such a low economic commitment on the part of international organizations and donor countries, educational deficiencies are being weighed down and the situation worsens year after year.
In 2023, 80% of crises have received less than half of the resources they required to respond to them.
Education is not seen as something urgent, when it is.
It goes unnoticed among donors.
If all sectors are compared according to the volume of financing, it occupies tenth place.
Only the sum of five areas - food security, health, water, sanitation and hygiene, shelter and multisectoral - received more than 65% of all funds in 2023. In short, education is the first right to be granted. loses and the last one to recover.
Clearly, we are not providing an effective response and this will have consequences in the short, medium and long term.
The more than 78 million children and adolescents affected by a crisis who do not attend school today know this well.
Taking into account that these emergencies already last an average of nine years, and that compulsory schooling is an average of six, this figure will continue to increase and will leave entire generations without acquiring basic knowledge.
Not receiving an education and having it be of quality is the violation of a fundamental right and an enabling right of others.
Its absence exposes all children to a series of risks such as work or child marriage or migration.
It is a priority for children.
And we don't say it.
The evidence shows that communities, and especially children and adolescents, prioritize it over other issues in emergency contexts.
Although the data show that when there is a crisis, education is largely forgotten, it also makes it clear that the situation can be reversed.
Ukraine is the example, the unique case that teaches us that, with the will and commitment of the Government, combined with the commitment of the international community, important advances can be achieved in an area that has traditionally been marginalized.
Let's turn the exception into the rule and commit to the present and future of childhood, putting the right to education at the center.
Paula San Pedro de Urquiza is the author of the report
Education in emergencies: a lifeline
and coordinator of the Advocacy area of the NGO Educo.
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