August 20, 2015 -- “It is with utmost dismay that I learned of the airstrike on a teachers’ office in Amran, Yemen which killed 13 teachers, 4 children and injured 20 people on Tuesday night. The teachers were gathered afterhours to prepare exams for thousands of children who had missed the end of their school year because of the fighting.

We at the Global Partnership for Education stand firmly with UNICEF in condemning the continuing violence that is taking the lives of children and teachers in Yemen.  The dangerous and violent conflict in Yemen has severely disrupted the education of the country's children, and they and their teachers face ongoing risk.  What is occurring in Yemen only adds to the immense crisis that has engulfed tens of millions of children in the region who have become refugees due to violence and armed conflict in their countries. A generation of children is now facing the loss of their education - and their future.

We condemn the violence and loss of life, and pledge redoubled efforts to work with our partners, including UNICEF, to protect and promote the education of children living with the consequences of these tragic conflicts.” – Julia Gillard, Board Chair of the Global Partnership for Education

The ongoing conflict in Yemen has had a devastating impact on children. Partners at UNICEF report that an average of eight children have been killed or injured in Yemen every day since the fighting escalated in March. Furthermore, nearly 400 schools have been damaged due to shelling or airstrikes, 95 completely destroyed. A further 663 are currently unusable because they are occupied by armed groups or housing internally displaced families. At least 3,600 schools have closed over the past two months, leaving 1.8 million children deprived of education.

The Global Partnership for Education is currently supporting the Government of Yemen with a US $82.6 million grant to implement their Education Sector Plan in partnership with UNICEF as the managing entity. The grant is also supporting immediate implementation of rebuilding schools, providing psychosocial support to 37,500 girls and boys as well as basic school supplies to 90,844 affected children.