The Government has allocated NOK 15 million to a co-operation project with Save the Children to provide education for children who are victims of war and conflict.

The money will be used to launch the “Global Challenge” project. The project aims to achieve a fivefold increase in the efforts to provide schooling for children who are affected by armed conflict. The goal is to enable eight million children in at least 25 countries to gain access to higher quality education or to education they would otherwise not have received.

The Government intends to increase efforts to help children and young people who have been deprived of education due to wars, conflicts or displacement. Children who live in areas of conflict are a particularly vulnerable and unprotected group, and are frequently left out of the school system. For many, life is chaotic. In this situation, education can provide a framework of security and stability. Moreover, education is a basic human right.

Save the Children Norway will lead the Global Challenge project on behalf of the 27 Save the Children organisations that make up the International Save the Children Alliance.

Last spring Norway launched a new strategy for its efforts to improve the rights and living conditions of children and young people in poor countries.

Press contact: Information adviser Oona Solberg, tel. 22 24 30 12 or 92 62 22 71