Canada pledges $14 million CAD to support children’s education in Sudan

KHARTOUM 29 March 2021 Canada and UNICEF Sudan are announcing $14 million CAD in new funding to support the safe return to school for children and to address the barriers that prevent children, particularly girls, from accessing education.

Nearly 23,000 out-of-school primary school children aged 6 to 14 years (50 per cent girls) in sixty communities located in fifteen localities of Gedaref, Kassala and Red Sea States, will benefit from a new education project supported by UNICEF funded by the Canadian Government worth CAD $10 million - approximately US$7.9M dollars.

The two-year project dubbed ‘Strong Girls, Strong Communities’ will be implemented by the Sudan Ministry of Education with support from UNICEF with an aim of addressing major barriers that prevent children, particularly girls, from attending school in the three States which currently have some of the lowest rates of school attendance in the country.

Despite progress made in the education sector in the past years, three million children aged 6 to 13 years or a third of all the school age population are still out of school, and half of those have never been to school. Through the new projects, more children will enroll, attend and complete school. When children are in school, they are protected from various forms of violence and exploitation such as child marriage, harmful traditional practices, sexual exploitation, which remain common in the communities.  

Moreover, while the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted all sectors, the education sector was gravely affected. Thousands of children were pushed out of school due to school closures, while the education dreams and paths of many were cut short and today they remain uncertain of their future. School children from the poorest households, those living in rural areas, children with disabilities and girls were affected more, exposing the huge inequalities in access to learning. The pandemic also exposed the huge digital divide between those who could access online learning and those who could not.

To address the challenge and impact of COVID-19, Canada is also providing funding to UNICEF Sudan to assist with the safe return to school for all children in Sudan through a contribution of CAD $4 million to Sudan’s COVID-19 response plan.

These new projects will align with the Charlevoix Declaration on quality education for girls, adolescent girls and women in developing countries announced by Canada during the G7 presidency in 2018, and resulted in commitments from partners, including Canada.

“The Declaration seeks to resolve the persistent barriers to quality education and skills development for girls and women in conflict, crisis, and fragility-affected countries. I am very pleased that Canada has been able to apply the principles of this declaration in such a concrete way here in Sudan,” said Mr. Adrian Norfolk, Ambassador of Canada to Sudan.

 “I would like to thank the government and the people of Canada for their support and show of solidarity in our strive to provide access to education for all children. We know that education plays a crucial role in the future opportunities for our children and we strive to break down the many barriers that Sudanese children, particularly girls, face in this area,” said Abdullah Fadil, UNICEF Sudan Country Representative.      

Canada’s recently announced bilateral assistance program, and engagement in the education sector in Sudan, aims to strengthen the country’s education system to ensure all children in Sudan, regardless of who they are or wherever they are, can exercise their right to quality, gender inclusive education.