16 stories from Africa on the importance of education during conflict and crisis

Each year, on June 16 the world commemorates the 1976 Soweto Youth Uprising by observing the International Day of the African Child.

June 16, 2016 by GPE Secretariat
|
3 minutes read
3 girls sitting at a desk in their classroom in Somaliland, Somalia. Credit: UNICEF/Hana Yoshimoto

Each year, on June 16 the world commemorates the 1976 Soweto Youth Uprising by observing the International Day of the African Child. This year, the theme is “Conflict and Crisis in Africa: Protecting all Children’s Rights”.

Even without considering the added challenges of conflict or humanitarian crises, children in Africa remain the most disadvantaged in the world regarding education access, quality and equity; while children in fragile and conflict-affected countries are more than twice as likely to be out of school compared with those in countries not affected by conflict.

Education is crucial in conflict and fragile situations because it provides security, facilitates peacebuilding, and fosters resilience. Therefore, providing support for countries to strengthen and rebuild education systems during and after crisis is core to GPE’s work.

From South Sudan to the Central African Republic and Sierra Leone, we have gathered 16 stories that underscore the power of education in ensuring that children in the most difficult circumstances have hope for a better future.

  1. In South Sudan, Eunice and Nelson love their new school
  2. How countries in crisis can continue to provide education
  3. Partners’ voices on the role of education to build peace
  4. Education cannot wait for the refugees of Lake Chad
  5. Cote d’Ivoire is building a competitive education system
  6. South Sudan celebrates its first comprehensive curriculum
  7. In DR Congo, more engagement for an improved education system
  8. 3 ways to bring children back to school in Central African Republic
  9. Uganda’s schools and teachers need our support
  10. Civil society’s response to the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone
  11. Building the foundation for a stronger education system in Sudan
  12. Partnership means progress for education in Somalia
  13. Tegera Muchiru wants to be a teacher
  14. One school at a time: making a difference in South Sudan
  15. In Chad, making quality education a reality for a million children
  16. “We Are not Giving up on Education despite Boko Haram’s Threats”

Related blogs

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. All fields are required.

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.

Plain text

  • Global and entity tokens are replaced with their values. Browse available tokens.
  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.