97,000 children will benefit from UNHCR and local partners' expanded response
NEW YORK, Oct. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Education Cannot Wait (ECW) is scaling up the education response to the Sudan regional refugee crisis. Since the outbreak of the war in neighboring Sudan in April 2023, more than 850,000 refugees have fled to Chad. In response to the escalating crisis, ECW announced today US$2 million in additional funding in Chad.
The expanded First Emergency Response, delivered by UNHCR along with local partners, will reach an additional 27,000 children impacted by the multi-dimensional crisis, bringing the total girls and boys reached through ECW's First Emergency Response to 97,000.
"ECW's continued support is critical to the refugee education response in Chad. The additional funding will support education activities in Wadi Fira and Ennedi Est, two provinces where recent arrivals have significantly increased, humanitarian actors are fewer and unmet needs are rising. Over the years, thanks to ECW's First Emergency Response grants, significant progress has been made - not least in the enrolment of Sudanese refugee girls who now outnumber boys at all education levels, from pre-primary to secondary. But too many refugee children and youth remain out of school. We call on public and private donors to continue sustaining and scaling-up the education response in Chad," said UNHCR Representative Magatte Guisse.
The continuing influx of over 150,000 new refugees has pushed the already fragile education system in Chad to the edge. Classes now house over 100 students and seasonal floods - made worse by climate change - damaged or destroyed 125 classrooms in the Wadi Fira province alone, according to UNHCR. In all, it is estimated that two-thirds of all refugee school-aged children currently living in Chad are out of school.
Sudan's war continues to devastate lives and livelihoods. It has set off the world's largest hunger crisis, millions have been displaced, and UNICEF has received alarming reports of grave violations against children, including killings, sexual violence and forced recruitment into armed groups.
To support the Government of Chad in responding to the resulting refugee crisis, the expanded funding focuses on reaching refugee and host community children alike with inclusive, quality education, providing holistic services such as mental health and psychosocial support, and reinforcing local community structures.
Despite this contribution, the educational response to the Sudan crisis remains severely underfunded. The Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan calls for US$1.7 billion in total resources, including US$69.6 million for the education response. Prior to ECW's latest investment, only 22% of this funding requirement had been met.
To scale-up its response to the Sudan regional refugee crisis, ECW is calling on donors and the private sector to urgently mobilize more resources.
About Education Cannot Wait:
Education Cannot Wait (ECW) is the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises. We support quality education outcomes for refugee, internally displaced and other crisis-affected girls and boys, so no one is left behind. ECW works through the multilateral system to both increase the speed of responses in crises and connect immediate relief and longer-term interventions through multi-year joint programming. ECW works in close partnership with governments, public and private donors, UN agencies, civil society organizations, and other humanitarian and development aid actors to increase efficiencies and end siloed responses. ECW urgently appeals to public and private sector donors for expanded support to reach even more vulnerable children and adolescents.
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Additional information available at: www.educationcannotwait.org
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