Germany is biggest donor to a UN education fund

Geneva (dpa) – At a conference in Geneva, the international community has raised pledges of more than 770 million euros to fund education for children in need. The money is to help ensure that schools are available in the countries concerned, even in the event of disasters and wars. The German government is contributing 210 million euros. Germany is by far the biggest donor to the “Education Cannot Wait” fund established by the United Nations in 2016.

The aim is to raise a total of around 1.5 billion dollars for programmes in 44 countries by 2026. Rather than being given to governments, the money will be made available to partners at the local level who build schools and provide teaching material, meals and psychosocial support.

“Children have not caused the crises in the world, but they are the ones who suffer most from them,” said German Development Minister Svenja Schulze. “Around the world, 222 million school-age children are affected by conflicts, permanent crises and emergency situations – three times as many as in 2016. We cannot afford to lose this generation.”