The Fierce Urgency of Now

By Yasmine SherifApr 9 2020 (IPS-Partners) We are living in a crisis unprecedented since World War II: COVID-19. The pandemic brutally sweeps across the globe, where we already face a massive global learning crisis and multiple brutal humanitarian crises. How much more can those left furthest behind in forced displacement and armed conflicts take? Across 26 countries of conflicts and forced displacement, host-governments are now struggling to find solutions for the 230 million estimated children and youth out of school, not the least the girls who are the most marginalized. UN agencies and civil society are trying their best to mitigate the impact of the Corona virus on their life and their learning. COVID-19 poses enormous risks for those left furthest behind, their learning and development, their safety, their food security, and their overall physical and mental health. In response, Education Cannot Wait immediately conducted a rapid assessment in close conjunction with all our stakeholders and partners in-country ‘The Fierce Urgency of Now! Education In Emergency Response to COVID-19.’ The assessment paints an alarming picture of the huge impact that the COVID-19 crisis is having on already severely strained education systems in countries affected by conflicts and forced displacement. There is an acute shortage of distance learning tools and materials, which means that millions of students won’t be able to complete the current school year. Many do not have a...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Education Health Source Type: news