US$2m committed to CAR refugee children’s education
The grant will support the UN Refugee Agency’s education response to the refugee crisis in the Central African Republic.
CAPE TOWN, April 22 (ANA) – An emergency education grant of about US$2 million has been announced to respond to the rapidly escalating humanitarian crisis in the border region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic (CAR).
The fund was announced by Education Cannot Wait (ECW) director Yasmine Sherif and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, according to a statement issued by ECW on Thursday.
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.
Local authorities have estimated that more than 90,000 people have fled from the CAR into the DRC since last December after elections kicked off a new wave of violence and mass displacement in the Central African country, including those who have fled to the Modale refugee site, located 30km from Yakoma in the DRC.
“These refugee girls, boys and their families have faced horrible violence and insecurity. Thousands have walked for weeks and hid in the forests desperately seeking safety,” said Sherif after a visit to Modale.
“Many have witnessed and experienced violence and soul-shattering trauma. They urgently need our support. We call on donors to urgently fund the remaining US$4-million gap for the education component of UNHCR’s response in this forgotten crisis.”
Grandi said: “We have an urgent, shared responsibility to ensure that refugee children and youth are able to access quality education, delivered in a safe environment, at the earliest point possible during a crisis.
“We commend Education Cannot Wait for their commitment to providing targeted investments to support the response to the CAR crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including strengthening the national education system for the inclusion of refugee learners in a way which also benefits host community children and youth.”
This new, 12-month ECW “first emergency response” grant of US$2 million will support UNHCR’s education response to the crisis, helping to ensure access to quality education for crisis-affected children and adolescents affected by these forced displacements. The investment will be delivered by UNHCR in partnership with the government of the DRC and local organisations.
The election-related fighting in the CAR uprooted hundreds of thousands of people inside the country and across borders into neighbouring countries including the DRC, Cameroon and Chad, according to the UNHCR.
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher
