Education in Emergencies

(Check against delivery)

Excellences, dear friends

We cannot sit back and accept that 37 million children and young people remain out of school because of crises and conflict.

For too long the international community has delivered too little too late in the field of education in emergencies.

Less than 2 percent of global humanitarian aid is allocated for education, and we are far from making the longer-term investments required to ensure quality education in protracted crises. 

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We must raise political will, mobilize additional funds and make the system work more efficiently to provide better education for more children. At the Oslo Education Summit last summer we agreed on the need for a new mechanism. Today we are launching “Education Cannot Wait”.

This "Fund for Education in Emergencies"  provides a great opportunity to step up efforts and go to scale. It is the right initiative at the right time.

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Now the real work can start. The fund needs broad and strong backing to succeed.  We need an unprecedented partnership of governments, international organizations, the private sector and civil society in support of children and youth.

I am happy to announce that Norway will provide up to 10 million dollars for the first year of the fund.

In addition, we will join other donors in supporting the establishment of a lean and efficient interim secretariat. I strongly encourage other donors and partners to step forward.

We simply cannot afford the costs of a lost generation. Not in- and around Syria, nor anywhere else.

Thank you