Improving access to quality education for refugee learners (Ethiopia)
About
Ethiopia—with now more than 800,000 refugees, of whom about 400,000 are school-aged children, and a staggering 2 million internally displaced people (IDPs), of whom nearly 800,000 are school-aged children—committed both at legal and policy levels in 2016 to improve access to education for refugees. This commitment was put to the test when COVID-19 closed schools in March 2020. Moreover, the conflict in Tigray Region, which erupted in November 2020, has displaced more than 1.7 million people (815,286 female), including 500,820 school-aged children, compounding an already dire situation for young people in the country. To reach refugee children and those living in host communities, UNICEF Ethiopia is providing formal and non-formal education, building temporary learning spaces, constructing latrines, furnishing classrooms, providing school supplies, mobilising back-to-school campaigns and prioritising psychosocial support and child protection in Tigray, Gambella, Benishangul-Gumuz, Afar and Somali Regions.
