Education

Dear children of today and of tomorrow,  Thirty years ago, against the backdrop of a changing world order – the fall of the Berlin Wall, the decline of apartheid, the birth of the world wide web – the world united in defence of children and childhood. While most of the world’s parents at the time had grown up under dictatorships or failing…

The problem, Around the world, attacks on children continue unabated, as warring parties flout one of the most basic rules of war: the protection of children. The protracted nature of conflicts today is affecting the futures of entire generations of children. Without access to education, a generation of children living in conflict will grow up without the…, The solution, A child’s right to education cannot be safeguarded in conflict zones without education itself being protected. Education can be a life-saver. Out of school, children are easy targets of abuse, exploitation and recruitment by armed forces and groups. School should provide a safe space where children can be protected from threats and crises. It is…, What is the Safe Schools Declaration?, The Safe Schools Declaration was opened for state endorsement in Oslo, Norway, in May 2015. It is a political commitment to better protect students, teachers, schools and universities during armed conflict, to support the continuation of education during war, and to put in place concrete measures to deter the military use of schools. Today, 119…, Safe Schools Declaration: Who has endorsed, States, countries and territories that have endorsed the Declaration shown in blue. Source: GCPEA. Information accurate as of 7 February, 2024. This map is stylized and not to scale. It does not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or area or the delimitation of any frontiers. The dotted line represents approximately the…, What is UNICEF’s role?, UNICEF works with states who have endorsed the Declaration and other armed groups to protect education from attack. UNICEF is on the frontlines in conflict-affected countries to develop school safety plans, get children back to learning by providing psycho-social support and informal learning opportunities, training teachers, rehabilitating…

In a neglected emergency, children need aid, protection – and a future, Two in three children in the Central African Republic (CAR) are in urgent need of aid amid an escalating crisis that has left thousands of children trapped within armed groups, and thousands more subjected to sexual violence. The children of CAR need security. The places they go for protection and support – including schools, hospitals and places…, Crisis at a glance, What’s happening in the Central African Republic?, In December 2013, Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), descended into violence. The situation fleetingly made international headlines, leading to warnings of a failed state and possible genocide. Now the few early signs of recovery and rebuilding in CAR have given way to a dramatic resurgence in fighting., Who is affected by the fighting?, More often than not, the armed groups target civilians rather than each other. They attack health and education facilities and personnel, mosques and churches, as well as sites where displaced people have taken shelter., How many children are affected?, Today, 1.5 million Central African children require humanitarian assistance. Meanwhile, there are almost 643,000 internally displaced Central Africans.  , A deepening health crisis, In 2018, severe acute malnutrition rates among young children in the Central African Republic have risen above the emergency threshold across more than half the country. And the situation is set to worsen. The number of children who are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition is projected to reach more than 43,000 in 2019., Learning under fire, At the national level in the Central African Republic, seven out of 10 children and adolescents drop out of school. Fewer than three in five finish primary school, and just 6 per cent complete the equivalent of high school. Children who are not in school are at high risk of exploitation, recruitment into armed groups or involvement in criminal…, Children under attack, The number of people displaced by the violence is near levels seen at the peak of the violence in 2014. Many families lack reliable access to food and depend on host communities. Around three in five are living with host families, most of whom are extremely poor. Many children were separated from their parents during the violence, ending up alone…, Voices from the Central African Republic, UNICEF UNICEF Display caption Show Original Caption Display caption Show Original Caption © UNICEF/UN0248767/Le Du UNICEF/UN0239520/Gilbertson VII Photo, The crisis in numbers, How is UNICEF helping?, UNICEF has helped set up hundreds of temporary learning spaces and trained thousands of community teachers in CAR. It has also established catch-up programmes for children who have missed out on classes since 2014. Between January and September 2018, a Rapid Response Mechanism led by UNICEF – and intended to provide crucial non-food items and…, Find out more

If you're 25 or under, submit the superhero of your imagination! The top superheroes who can take action against violence in and around schools, will be selected for a global vote. If you win, you will have the exciting opportunity to bring your superhero to life by working with a comic artist to publish your very own comic which will be shown…

TO ENTER OUR CALL Enter our submission call through our online application from October 5 - November 4, 2018, 23:59 EST. Make sure your submission includes your superhero name, their superpower to make schools safe, one of their school-saving adventures (a simple storyline of maximum 1600 characters) and attach a doodle/drawing/sketch of what they…

One year ago, hundreds of thousands of desperate and terrorized people – more than half of them children – poured across the border from Myanmar into Bangladesh, bringing with them accounts of the unspeakable violence and brutality that had forced them to flee. Today, a semblance of normality has descended on the camps and the surrounding…, Crisis at a glance, How many Rohingya refugees are in Bangladesh?, Around 919,000 Rohingya refugees now live in southern Bangladesh, the vast majority in the camps and settlements that have sprung up in Cox’s Bazar district, close to the border with Myanmar., What are the main challenges Rohingya refugees face?, Daily life is dominated by the search for food and water, and coping with living conditions that are difficult and sometimes dangerous – especially in Bangladesh’s long monsoon and cyclone seasons, which last until the end of the year. This daily challenge of survival is compounded by uncertainty over their future. They want to return home, but…, How are Rohingya children affected by the crisis?, Aside from the challenges outlined above, children also face an uncertain future. Lack of schooling is a frequent complaint around the camp, especially among adolescents. Girls in particular are at risk of sexual exploitation and gender-based violence. All children face the threat of malnutrition, disease and unsafe water., How one Rohingya girl avoided missing out on school, Two girls write on a sheet of paper, Bangladesh On 5 August 2018 in Hakimpara Refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Tasmin (left), a Bangladeshi student, helps her friend Rajima (right), a Rohingya refugee, with her studies. Both students are 10 years of age. When Rajima, a 10-year-old Rohingya refugee, arrived in Bangladesh in August 2017 she…, Voices of Rohingya refugees, Rubena's story Rashed's story Watch more of Rashed's story >> Abu Ahmed's story, UNICEF's response, UNICEF and its partners from both government and civil society have continued and broadened their work in Myanmar and Bangladesh: To protect children in the largely lawless environment of the camps, UNICEF and partners have set up 136 child-friendly spaces, creating a safe place for children to heal, grow and play. To protect girls against gender-…, Learn more

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