DELIVERING EDUCATION in the Midst of FRAGILITY, CONFLICT, and VIOLENCE (FCV) Ensuring a safe environment for children to learn is more than a mission for the World Bank. It is an urgent imperative. In large part, the success of our FCV Strategy is predicated on education. There are few spheres of development with so much potential to contribute to violence prevention and peace building. Schooling, therefore, has a critical role in developing the social cohesion for stability, as well as the skill base needed for our client countries to advance in their development and achieve economic prosperity. © akram.alrasny / Adobe Stock WITH INVESTMENTS NUMBERS TELL A SAD STORY ABOUT TOTALLING $7 BILLION, THE WORSENING DISPLACEMENT CRISIS WORLD BANK IS THE LARGEST EXTERNAL FINANCIER OF There are More than 50% 17.5 MILLION of refugee children are EDUCATION IN FCV SETTINGS OUT OF SCHOOL child refugees and asylum seekers The World Bank, through technical ADOLESCENT REFUGEES Another in particular lack access assistance, loans, and grants, works in 25.8 MILLION to education collaboration with humanitarian actors children are internally displaced and other stakeholders to minimize these The average gross enrollment rate disruptions and advance education in (GER) for refugees These FCV settings. Our education portfolio in 43.4 MILLION CHILDREN 65% at the primary level Fragility, Conflict, and Violence settings make up about 40% of the (compared to global GER of 101%) has grown rapidly in recent years, entire population of the 110 million reflecting the increasing importance of forcibly displaced people 41% at the secondary level the FCV agenda in education. In fiscal (compared to global GER of 77%) year 2024 (FY24), our investment in FCV settings stands at $7 billion, accounting 7% at the tertiary level for about 27% of the World Bank’s (compared to global GER of 40%) education portfolio and representing 42 projects in 28 countries. This share will continue to grow under our Strategy for GIRLS are two and a half times more likely to be out of primary Fragility, Conflict, and Violence 2020- For children living school if they live in 2025. An additional $1.2 billion in funding in FCV settings, conflict-affected countries for education in FCV countries will be LEARNING POVERTY (share of children aged 10 approved in FY24 and FY25. GIRLS IN FCV affected countries who cannot read and comprehend are nearly 90% more likely to be a simple age-appropriate text) out of secondary school than their almost always exceeds non-FCV counterparts 27% 90% 9% Today, only 3% of humanitarian aid goes to education. Yet the children FY16 FY24 most in need of a good education are also at greatest risk of having their Share of World Bank Education Portfolio learning disrupted, whether by conflict, violence, pandemics, climate, or in FCV Countries (FY16 and FY24) other crises. Regional distribution of the education portfolio in FCV settings (# of projects) East Asia & Pacific (2) Europe & Central Asia (1) Latin America & Caribbean (1) Africa (33) Middle East & North Africa (4) South Asia (1) In FY24, 33 out of 42 active portfolio projects are in Sub-Saharan African countries. In the Middle East and North Africa region, the ongoing Syrian refugee crises and other regional instabilities have led to an increase in projects, © Natalia Cieslik / World Bank PROGRESS IN EDUCATION WILL INCREASINGLY BE DETERMINED BY OPERATING EFFECTIVELY IN FCV SETTINGS The current global situation, characterized by a changing climate, shifting geopolitics, and the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, is most likely a preview of the uncertainties that countries will face in the future. By 2030, more than half of the poor, and two-thirds of the extreme poor, will live in situations of FCV. For the World Bank to achieve its goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting prosperity on a livable planet, it will need to succeed in FCV settings. Launched in February 2020, our Strategy for Fragility, Conflict, and Violence 2020-2025 is an important milestone in how the World Bank serves populations living in these settings. The strategy rests on four pillars. Our white paper “Safe and Learning in the Midst of Fragility, Conflict, and Violence” recommends actions across those four pillars. PILLAR 1 PILLAR 2 PILLAR 3 PILLAR 4 Education has a key role to Remaining engaged Helping countries Mitigating the spillovers play in preventing violent during crises and active transition out of fragility of FCV is key. Programs conflict and interpersonal conflict requires new requires consensus on should address the needs of violence. delivery modalities, the sequence of reforms, internally displaced persons mission-driven and investing in state (IDPs) and refugees, as well partnerships, and a capabilities. as host communities. greater tolerance for risk. WORLD BANK SUPPORTS PROJECTS IN FCV COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD ENABLING SCHOOLS TO FUNCTION IN YEMEN In Yemen, The World Bank’s Restoring Education and Learning Project provides a school package to over 1,100 schools. It includes four key elements: (i) teacher training and performance-based teacher payments; (ii) learning materials and school supplies; (iii) rehabilitation of school infrastructure; and (iv) school feeding. The project reaches almost 600,000 children, targeting the most vulnerable districts. It also supports delivery of remedial education for struggling students, as well as strengthening local capacity to manage education. The project includes close collaboration with UNICEF, the World Food Program (WFP), and Save the Children. KEEPING ADOLESCENT GIRLS IN INCREASING ACCESS TO EDUCATION SCHOOL IN NIGERIA IN SOMALIA In Nigeria, the AGILE project expands and In Somalia, the Education for Human Capital improves secondary schools to ensure safe, Development Project aims to increase access accessible, and inclusive infrastructure. It also to primary education in underserved areas, provides skills training for adolescent girls with a focus on girls, and improve quality on digital literacy, health education, gender- of instruction. It includes (i) strengthening based violence awareness and prevention, government’s stewardship role; (ii) establishing negotiation skills, and self-agency. The project a national student learning assessment system; aims to benefit about 6.7 million adolescents and (iii) strengthening system-level monitoring and 15.5 million direct beneficiaries, including and evaluation. families and communities, in seven states. EMERGENCY RESPONSE IN UKRAINE In Ukraine, the World Bank’s education support includes financing of teacher salaries; support for a remedial online tutoring program for displaced students; and reallocating $100 million to support and protect academic scholarships for higher education students. © sarymsakov.com / Adobe Stock HIRING AND TRAINING TEACHERS IN CAMEROON In Cameroon, a World Bank project has supported the government in hiring over 9,000 primary school teachers—prioritizing zones that host refugees and internally displaced people. It provides training for almost 60,000 teachers in effective pedagogies and topics such as education in emergencies, gender- based violence, and psychosocial support. The project also supports school grants, as well as financial management trainings for school management councils in refugee-hosting areas. © Davide Bonaldo / Adobe Stock WORLD BANK’S WORK IN FCV SETTINGS RECEIVES STRATEGIC OPERATIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE To strengthen our response, the World Bank is launching the Inclusion Support Programme for Refugee Education (INSPIRE). INSPIRE seeks to provide technical support to countries to help integrate refugee children into host country systems. It also promotes predictable concessional financing to countries that open their schools to refugee children. Working with partners, INSPIRE will help countries implement programs to help transition refugee populations into host country schools while strengthening the quality of education for all students. The Bank has also mobilized an Education and FCV Response Team to provide just-in-time advice and support to country staff on operations in FCV settings. The support includes analytical work, distilling best practices, and generating creative solutions for service delivery in these challenging contexts. © Dario Fernandez Ruz / Pexels EXPANDING AND SHARING GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE The World Bank aims to inform evidence-based solutions for education in FCV settings. For example, recent case studies were conducted to analyze what works including displaced populations within host country national education systems. In The Global Cost of Inclusive Refugee Education—a joint report of the World Bank and UNHCR—we estimate the cost of educating refugee children in host country systems. Our knowledge exchange events and publications seek to ensure that expertise and tools reach those who need them across countries. BUILDING NEW PARTNERSHIPS TO REACH BENEFICIARIES The World Bank’s growing investments in education in FCV settings mark an opportunity to partner with and learn from others who have a longstanding presence in this space, including both our traditional partners (e.g., UNICEF and UNHCR, international NGOs, bilateral agencies), and newer partners (e.g., municipalities or community-based organizations). We continue to expand our partnerships with humanitarian actors from civil society, including faith- based organizations and local entities, such as associations of women’s groups. These organizations have a strong presence on the ground in hard-to-reach areas and offer crucial contextual knowledge and technical know-how. Together, we can more effectively advance education and learning in the world’s most challenging settings. For more information on the World Bank’s work on Education, please visit: www.worldbank.org/education Follow us on X: March 2024 @WBG_Education