ECW has provided approximately US$18
million in total funding in Ecuador. The new investment will be delivered
by a consortium of partners led by RET International in
coordination with the Government of Ecuador and local partners, reaching
nearly 43,000 refugee, migrant and host community
children.
NEW
YORK, July 24, 2024 /CNW/ -- Since 2014, close
to 8 million Venezuelans have left their home, making this the
largest displacement crisis in Latin
America. In Ecuador, the
large influx of refugees and migrants – combined with the
compounding impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change,
economic, political and social upheaval, and a concerning increase
in violence and forced displacement – has disrupted the education
for a large number of refugee, migrant and host community
children.
![More than 20% of school-aged Venezuelan refugee and migrant children are out of school. About 5% of Ecuadorian children are out of primary school, with the number rising to 10% for secondary school. More than 20% of school-aged Venezuelan refugee and migrant children are out of school. About 5% of Ecuadorian children are out of primary school, with the number rising to 10% for secondary school.](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2468522/Education_Cannot_Wait_Venezuelan_refugee_and_migrant_children.jpg)
In response to these challenges, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and
its global strategic partners announced today a new US$8 million catalytic Multi-Year Resilience
Programme grant that will be delivered by a consortium of partners,
led by RET International in coordination with Ecuador's Ministry of Education and local
partners, to reach a total of 42,700 children and adolescents.
Consortium partners include Plan International, Child Fund, and the
Ibero-American Institute of Natural and Cultural Heritage of the
Andrés Bello Convention Organization (IPANC-CAB).
The grant builds on the impact of ECW's investments in
Ecuador, which have reached a
total of 300,000 children to date. Total ECW funding in
Ecuador now tops US$17.8 million, with two previous rounds of
First Emergency Response funding at the total of US$2.45 million, and the first Multi-Year
Resilience Programme financing (2021-2024) at US$7.4 million.
"Education is a lifeline for children living in Ecuador. In all, two out of ten refugee and
migrant children are out of school. And violence, economic
uncertainty and insecurity continue to plague the nation and the
region as a whole. We are calling on world leaders to urgently
step-up funding. Our investment in education is our investment in
the vast potential of Latin
America's children and youth," said Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education
Cannot Wait, the global fund for education in emergencies and
protracted crises within the United Nations.
"In the Ministry of Education, we promote inclusive education as
a fundamental pillar to guarantee the right to education of
children and adolescents, regardless of their nationality. In this
way, Ecuador has become a regional
benchmark for its inclusive regulations. The Multi-Year Resilience
Programme has been a key programme for joining efforts and
articulating actions at the national and territorial levels, under
the principle of 'leaving no one behind,'" said Alegría Crespo,
Minister of Education in Ecuador.
"Beyond access to the educational system, we are currently working
on retention, and prevention of school dropouts, which affect
particularly displaced and refugee children. We thank ECW and the
organizations that share our vision and collaborate with us to face
these challenges under an approach of co-responsibility and respect
for human rights."
While the Government of Ecuador
has taken notable steps to include refugees in the national
education system – notably the Quito Process starting in 2018 and
Regularization of the Status of the Venezuelan Refugees in 2022 –
the needs are far-outstripping the resources available.
More than 20% of school-aged Venezuelan refugee and migrant
children are out of school. About 5% of Ecuadorian children are out
of primary school, with the number rising to 10% for secondary
school.
Even when they are in school, the quality of education is
lagging behind. Recent assessments indicate that around 70% of
children are not meeting minimum proficiency levels for language,
literature and math.
Lack of safety in and around schools, high rates of gender-based
violence, xenophobia and discrimination, and a high prevalence of
teenage pregnancy remain concerns.
The programme will ensure access to safe and inclusive
education, support retention and strengthen holistic learning
outcomes. It also aims to strengthen existing public policies with
the aim of improving the resilience of the Ecuadorian education
system and guaranteeing the right to education of children,
including refugees, migrants and those from host communities in
vulnerable situations. These strategies include efforts to support
the enrollment of all out-of-school children and strengthen
holistic education opportunities, including improved access to
mental health and psychosocial support.
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SOURCE Education Cannot Wait