ECW commits US$1m to CAR refugee children, youth in Cameroon
There is an essential need to identify and document non-registered refugee girls and boys to ensure they can enrol in government-run schools.
CAPE TOWN, May 6 (ANA) – Education Cannot Wait (ECW) has announced a US$1-million grant to ensure refugee children and youth fleeing violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) receive access to quality learning in Cameroon.
Recent estimates indicate that approximately 6,700 refugees, over half of whom are children, from the CAR have fled into Cameroon following violence surrounding the December 2020 presidential election, according to a statement issued by ECW on Wednesday.
It said with newly arrived refugees entering Cameroon through various entry points, there is an essential need to identify and document non-registered refugee girls and boys to ensure they can enrol in government-run schools.
ECW was established during the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016 by international humanitarian and development aid actors, along with public and private donors, to help reposition education as a priority on the humanitarian agenda.
The organisation said school attendance among CAR refugee children has increased in Cameroon over the past years, from 40% in 2014 in primary education to 46% in 2020.
“Nevertheless, the number of girls going to school has not significantly increased, due to socio-cultural barriers. Disability and poverty also keep too many children out of school,” ECW said.
Implemented by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in partnership with the government of Cameroon, the 12-month ECW-financed first emergency response will provide over 6,000 refugee children and youth with access to safe learning environments. More than 1,000 host community children and youth will benefit from the new investment.
“The government of Cameroon is stepping up efforts to bring these refugee girls and boys into the national education system. With expanded international support, we can help ensure no girl or boy is left behind,” said ECW director Yasmine Sherif, urging world leaders, donors and the private sector to join the movement to support vulnerable children and youth in Cameroon and beyond.
ECW has urgently appealed to donors for US$400 million so that it can deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals and leverage the power of education to build a more peaceful, more prosperous world, according to Sherif.
“When refugee girls and boys have access to education, they can contribute meaningfully tomorrow to the society in which they live and to peace between nations,” said Olivier Guillaume Beer, UNHCR representative in Cameroon.
“As UNHCR representative in Cameroon, I want to believe that giving access to education to all refugee children is not a utopia but a possible and realistic dream. Education Cannot Wait’s support contributes to making this dream true.”
ECW on Tuesday announced a US$1-million grant to respond to the situation of refugee children and youth in Chad who fled violence in the CAR.
The organisation said the fund will provide some 7,800 CAR refugee children and children in host communities with the safety, protection and opportunities of quality learning environments.
Last month, an emergency education grant of about US$2 million was announced by ECW in response to the rapidly escalating humanitarian crisis in the border region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the CAR.
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher