Education a Necessity In Humanitarian Aid

In a new report, researchers from the Jesuit Refugee Service argue that education is a life-saving intervention for children and adolescents who are forcibly displaced from their homes. “This report highlights the need to prioritize education for refugees and those displaced by conflict and crisis and ensure that these important programs receive the resources and political support they deserve,” said Giulia McPherson, JRS/USA’s assistant policy director and the author of “Providing Hope, Investing in the Future: Education in Emergencies & Protracted Crises.” Today, more than 75 million children and young people have their education disrupted or destroyed by emergencies and prolonged crises. Attacks on schools, wars, natural disasters and the largest refugee crisis since World War II have increased the need for education in emergencies. Despite this need, less than 2 percent of all humanitarian funding has gone to education every year since 2010, according to the report. JRS officials hope that during the World Humanitarian Summit, convening in Istanbul in May to tackle the most significant challenges facing the global humanitarian sector, those funding levels can be re-evaluated.