The Education Cannot Wait fund is the first of its kind globally and is dedicated to education in emergencies and protracted crises.
The funding announcement comes as G20 member states prepare to discuss the Afghanistan crisis at the UN General Assembly in New York.
Save the Children is calling for an increase in funding to meet rapidly rising humanitarian need in Afghanistan, and provide support for Afghan people who have fled to neighbouring countries.
“The Afghan crisis is a children’s crisis,” said Save the Children Deputy CEO and Director of International Programming, Mat Tinkler.
“After decades of war, 10 million children in Afghanistan urgently need humanitarian assistance to survive.”
“This funding comes at an important and uncertain time for these children. It will give boys and girls access to an education, which is crucial to their development and Afghanistan’s future.”
“Much, much more funding is desperately needed and we urge governments to follow the lead of Education Cannot Wait.”
More than 80,000 children have been forced to flee their homes, communities and schools to escape conflict since the start of June this year.
The key focus of the Education Cannot Wait programming will be to assist displaced children by providing them with access to temporary learning spaces, primary education as well as the mental health and psychosocial support they need.
The program will be delivered together with local partners and is expected to reach 38,000 children across the provinces of Sar-e-Pul, Kunduz, Kandahar, Nangarhar, Uruzgan, Helmand and Herat.
Nora Charif Chefchaouni, Senior Education Adviser for Save the Children believes access to education for Afghan children will be central to the nation’s future prosperity.
“Education and early learning for Afghan children, including girls, must be recognised as lifesaving and crucial for a secure future,” she said.
“Afghan children have the right to live in a world free of violence, to be able to go to school, to play with their friends and to feel safe.”
“Providing education to boys and girls is an essential part of any principled humanitarian response.”
Save the Children is an independent, impartial and politically neutral organisation that has worked in Afghanistan since 1976 to deliver lifesaving services to children and their families across the country.
The organisation provides health, education, child protection, nutrition and livelihoods services, reaching over 1.6 million Afghans in 2020.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Kimberley Gardiner on 0437 435 777 or media.team@savethechildren.org.au