Education Drive to Benefit Half a Million Out-of-School Children in South Sudan

NEW YORK (February 17, 2016) – An initiative to educate over half a million children in South Sudan was launched today by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology with support from UNICEF.

The Back to Learning 2 initiative will target vulnerable communities across South Sudan by providing learning opportunities for children currently not attending school, either due to conflict or obstacles such as distance or family finances. It builds on the success of phase 1 of the initiative which allowed more than 360,000 children to access education in 2015.

“We made great progress last year, but there are still too many children not receiving an education,” said Dr. John Gai Yoah, Minister of Education and Technology. “That is particularly an issue for girls and children uprooted by conflict.”

South Sudan has some of the worst education indicators in the world with only one in 10 children completing primary school. The conflict that erupted in 2013 has forced more than 400,000 children out of school and has significantly decreased primary school enrollment.

“A child not in school is a child robbed of her rights and her future,” said Jonathan Veitch, UNICEF’s Representative in South Sudan. “Societies will not function if we fail to educate our children.”

The Back-to-Learning 2 initiative will provide an integrated education in emergencies package for displaced children and adolescents in conflict-affected areas, and a basic education package for vulnerable children and adolescents in areas that have not been affected by the fighting.  

To provide access to learning opportunities for the more than half a million vulnerable children and adolescents aged 3 to 18, UNICEF and partners require $75 million. 

The funds will be used to provide learning facilities and education materials to newly enrolled children in schools; to continue education services to children in conflict-affected areas; and to enroll new students out of school for other reasons.

Photos and b-roll available here: http://uni.cf/1SxlnWA

About UNICEF
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) works in more than 190 countries and territories to put children first. UNICEF has helped save more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization, by providing health care and immunizations, clean water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF's work through fundraising, advocacy and education in the United States. Together, we are working toward the day when no children die from preventable causes and every child has a safe and healthy childhood. For more information, visit www.unicefusa.org.

For more information, contact:
Sophie Aziakou, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, 917.720.1397, saziakou@unicefusa.org