Children in Sudan receiving just 25p per year for their education

Humanitarian funding that helps children access education in emergencies is failing to meet escalating needs, according to global children’s charity Plan International UK as it marks the International Day of Education.

According to new data from the UN, children in Sudan, home to the world’s worst displacement crisis, received just 25p per child in education funding in 2024, while in Gaza and the West Bank just £23 was spent on education per child across the year. This is staggeringly low compared to the average per-pupil funding of £7,460 per year in the UK1.

The data also shows that only 3.1% of global humanitarian funding was spent on children’s education in 2024. This marks the lowest level of funding since 2021, when it also stood at 3.1%.

This International Day of Education comes after a year of devastating humanitarian crises, including those in Sudan and Gaza, where millions of children's futures have been put in jeopardy. 

16-year-old Menan fled Al Suki in Sudan with her family and now lives in an IDP camp in Kassala State. She says: “Our lives have changed completely. The schools have closed, which has affected me emotionally. Not just me, but all the students. My mother is a teacher, and she is doing her best to support me. She believes that this situation will improve soon, and we will return to our country and people. I was supposed to take my exams and go to high school. However, the schools were closed and the education in Sudan has been severely affected by the war.”

The five countries experiencing humanitarian crises with the highest need for education funding in 2024 were:

1. Syria
2. the Occupied Palestinian Territory
3. Afghanistan
4. Sudan
5. Yemen

Of these countries, none received even close to the amount of education funding needed in 2024 as part of humanitarian response plans, with Syria receiving just 19% of required funds, Occupied Palestinian Territory 38%, Sudan 18% and Yemen 13%. 

Humanitarian crises deprive children of education, increasing risks of gender-based violence, school dropout rates, and long-term harm to communities and children's futures. The Education Commission estimates that by 2030, 800 million young people will not have the basic skills they need to start work.2

Kathleen Spencer Chapman, Director of Influencing and External Affairs at Plan International UK, says: “Education is a lifeline for children in emergencies. It not only provides them with vital knowledge for their future, but also a place where they can play, feel safe and access things like toilet facilities and food, which they may not have access to at home. We also know that education can act as a critical lifesaver during times of crisis when children face severe protection risks outside of school, such as child marriage and recruitment by armed groups.

“The UK Government must urgently lead a step up in global efforts to provide children and young people with education in emergencies, including through providing scaled-up funding in the coming Financial Year and encouraging other donors to also step up their efforts. A return of UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) to 0.7% of GNI would greatly help in these efforts.

“Childhood is a precious and irreplaceable time for all children and their development. We must ensure children not only survive humanitarian crises but are able to build resilience, thrive, and have hope for the future even in the toughest of circumstances.” 

As part of their winter appeal, Plan International UK are raising money to help girls around the world defy the odds and finish school. Donate here: https://plan-uk.org/donate/winter-appeal.

Notes to editors:

• 1 https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/03/19/school-funding-everything-you-need-to-know/
• 2 https://educationcommission.org/transformingtheeducationworkforce/ 

Menan from Sudan’s full case study, along with photos and videos can be found here: https://mediabank.plan-international.org/?c=70320&k=6325e2c656 

Methodology

• Per child funding figures were calculated by taking the total education sector 2024 funding figures from the UNOCHA website and dividing them by the latest population figures of children over five for each country
• Top five countries with the highest need for education funding were gathered using the countries with the highest ‘required’ figure on the education sector page of UNOCHA website. Then, percentages of how much need was addressed was gathered from the ‘coverage’ column of those countries.