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Half of the world’s refugee children do not go to school. The pandemic risks further aggravating the situation, warns the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, which calls on leaders to act.
Filippo Grandi, director of UNHCR. Stock Photography.
Unless the world community cracks down immediately, millions of refugee children and youth could be deprived of their education as a result of the corona pandemic. That’s the message of a recent report by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, which maps refugee children’s access to education.
“Even before, half of the world’s refugee children did not go to school.” After all they have endured, we cannot deprive them of their future by denying them an education, “said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, in a statement.
UNHCR writes that all children have been trapped during the pandemic, but notes that refugees are particularly vulnerable. The reasons are many: schools closed, lack of technical aids or the fact that many refugee children have to work to help support their families.
The worst situation is for the girls. As a result of COVID-19, half of high school refugee girls will not return to classrooms when the fall semester begins, according to one estimate.
“Education is not just a human right: allowing refugee girls to receive an education means both protection and clear economic benefits for them, their families and entire communities,” says Grandi.
