[LAUNCH] INEE 20th Anniversary Report

Published
Topic(s):
Global Agendas - SDG, Education 2030, etc.
Education Financing
Conflict
Out of School
English

Reflecting on the 20 years since the founding of INEE in November 2000, there is much to be proud of. Yet celebrations of our achievements are tinged with sadness, at a time of a global pandemic emergency that affects the education of children and youth in almost every nation in the world.

20 Years of INEE report cover image
Click to read the report.

In our new report, ‘20 Years of INEE: Achievements and Challenges in Education in Emergencies’ we highlight the continued relevance of INEE 20 years on. The report presents new data that shows 127 million primary and secondary school-age children and young people living in crisis-affected countries were out of school in 2019. This is equivalent to almost half of the global out-of-school population, even though only around 29% of children and young people in this age group globally live in crisis-affected countries. These figures are based on new data provided by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS).   

The report also demonstrates the still urgent need to prioritize education and financing of education in emergencies, particularly in ‘forgotten’ crises. 

Some of the key milestones for INEE and the EiE sector identified in the report include: 

  • EiE is now a recognized and established sector, and is part of humanitarian responses as set out in the 2010 the UN resolution on education in emergencies.
     
  • EiE is part of global policy commitments, identified in the World Education Forum Incheon Declaration, and the Education 2030 Framework for Action, 2015. 
     
  • The INEE Minimum Standards for Education: Preparedness, Response and Recovery,  launched in 2004 set new global standards to enhance quality and ensure access to, safe and relevant education. Updated in 2010, they have become a key reference in the field of EiE.  
     
  • The Global Education Cluster was established in 2006 as part of the humanitarian architecture to promote coordination of education in humanitarian responses, signalling a key turning point for the provision of education during crises. 
     
  • The establishment of the multilateral Education Cannot Wait Fund launched in 2016, identified education as a key sector of humanitarian responses and has led to important changes in the funding of EiE.  

Some of the key challenges that remain for the EiE sector include: 

  • 127 million primary and secondary school aged children and young people in crisis-affected contexts remain out of school, denied their right to quality education.
127 million infographic

 

  • Conflicts and disasters continue to forcibly displaced millions of people every year, reaching a total of 79.5 million forcibly displaced in 2019. Internally displaced and refugee children and young people continue to face significant barriers to accessing and completing safe quality education. 
     
  • The education sector continues to receive far less than the 2012 UN target of 4 percent of global humanitarian aid. While the amount of humanitarian aid for education has increased significantly since 2012, less than half of the requests for the sector actually get funded. In 2019, just 43 percent of aid requests for the education sector were funded, compared to 66 percent of humanitarian aid requests overall.
     
  • Humanitarian financing for education is asymmetrical resulting in many ‘forgotten’ crises. Of the 424 humanitarian aid requests for the education sector that received some funding, half went to just 29 appeals. Those receiving the most funding are often those with the greatest media visibility and those seen as having geopolitical importance, such as Syria. Sub-Saharan African nations affected by crises are most likely to be left out. 
     
  • The global community is facing ongoing and new challenges. Climate change is exacerbating the number and intensity of natural disasters, and COVID-19 is adversely affecting children’ and young people’s access to education around the world.


We encourage you to read the full report, and to join us in our continued and collective efforts to accomplish our mission of ensuring quality, safe, and relevant education for all persons affected by emergencies.