The US$405.8 million pledged to Education Cannot Wait (ECW) offers support for children whose schooling has been disrupted by conflict, displacement and climate disasters. Added to US$135.8 million secured earlier, the new commitments bring the campaign total to US$541.6 million, or 90 per cent of its US$600 million target for 2027–2030.
Pledges are not the same as money already transferred or spent. The test is whether funding reaches children directly.
The scale of the education emergency
ECW estimates that 258 million school-aged children and adolescents across 87 countries have had their education disrupted by crises. Some 93 million are entirely out of school. Nearly 80 per cent of crisis-affected children who are out of school live in 20 countries facing the most severe emergencies.
ECW’s 2027–2030 strategy aims to reach 10 million children. At least half are expected to be girls, while one million places are intended for children with disabilities. Planned support includes safe learning spaces, quality teaching, protection and stronger national education systems. Reopening a school does not automatically mean children can attend regularly or learn safely.
Why the funding matters to Africa
Countries facing conflict and displacement, including Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, illustrate the challenge. Displaced families may lose access to schools, while damaged facilities, teacher shortages and the cost of transport or learning materials make returning to education harder.
Schools can also provide routine, psychosocial support and protection from exploitation. These benefits depend on trained teachers, safe facilities and sustained assistance.
ECW says humanitarian education funding has fallen for a second consecutive year and covers less than one-third of assessed global needs. Its 2025 results report recorded 10.4 million children reached across 33 countries during 2023–2025, demonstrating programme reach but also the need for continued investment.
Back Story: Why Education Cannot Wait was established
Launched in 2016, ECW was created to connect emergency humanitarian assistance with longer-term education support. It aims to help children keep learning during crises and when emergencies become prolonged. The current campaign will finance its next four-year strategy.
Germany, the United Kingdom, Norway, Canada, Switzerland, Ireland, the European Union and Japan were among the contributors announced in Geneva. Norway confirmed NOK600 million for ECW for 2027–2030, while the UK announced £80 million. The United States was absent from the new donor list amid wider reductions in international aid.
Turning pledges into learning
ECW wants at least 50 per cent of programme financing to pass through national and local partners by 2030. In 2025, the comparable share was 31 per cent. Increasing local delivery could bring decisions closer to affected communities, provided organisations receive adequate funding and oversight.
The campaign still needs US$58.4 million to reach its target. Donors and ECW must report how much is disbursed, where it goes, how many children return to school and whether learning improves.
For children living through war, displacement and disasters, the Geneva announcement will matter because safe classrooms reopen, teachers are supported and education continues.
