Getting Children in Lebanon Back to School Amongst Multiple Crises

During Yasmine Sherif’s visit to UNRWA schools in Ein El Hilweh, Lebanon, she told children, “I believe in you, and I believe in your strength.” ECW continues to support Palestine refugee children in Lebanon to overcome the impact of COVID-19 on their education. Credit: ECW/Fouad ChoufanyBy Maria AounBEIRUT, Lebanon, Dec 15 2020 (IPS) Education and health care were high on the agenda when the United Nations vowed to work toward a better future by setting 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be met by 2030. The global COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with harsh socio-economic challenges over the past few years, have led to several countries being off track to meet the SDGs. Lebanon is one such country: Lebanon hosts the largest proportion of refugees per capita of the local population in the world, and since 1948, it has been home to a large Palestine refugee community. Since 2011, it has seen more than one million Syrians – many of them children – cross the border into an already over-stretched and under-funded society with pre-existing and continuing education challenges for refugee, host-community and Lebanese children. Most of these refugees live in harsh conditions with children having limited or no access to education whatsoever. According to a 2018 assessment conducted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 58% of refugees between the ages of 5 to 18 were out of school and living in extreme poverty. Unabated political conflicts...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Aid Crime & Justice Economy & Trade Education Education Cannot Wait. Future of Education is here Featured Financial Crisis Global Headlines Health Human Rights Humanitarian Emergencies Middle East & North Africa Migration & Refug Source Type: news