Governments and partners announced US$405.8 million in new pledges to Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the global fund for education in emergencies, at its High-Level Replenishment Conference hosted by Switzerland in Geneva on 5 November, the fund announced.

Source: Education Cannot Wait via PR Newswire

Together with US$135.8 million already secured through previous multi-year donor commitments, the new pledges take ECW's 'Hope Starts Here' campaign to US$541.6 million — 90 per cent of its US$600 million target (yaani about 60 crore dollars), leaving a gap of US$58.4 million, Devex reported.

Source: Devex

Germany, the United Kingdom, Norway, Canada, Switzerland, Ireland, the European Union and Japan were among the governments whose commitments were announced at the conference.

Host country Switzerland pledged CHF 35 million to Education Cannot Wait for the period 2027 to 2030.

A 2027-2030 plan to reach 10 million children

The commitments provide the foundation for ECW's 2027-2030 Strategic Plan, which aims to reach 10 million crisis-affected children with quality education — half of them girls, and including one million children with disabilities.

The conference came in ECW's tenth anniversary year: the fund was established in 2016 on the principle that children living through conflict, displacement and climate disasters must not be left behind. Sigrid Kaag chairs ECW's High-Level Steering Group, and Ambassador Dominik Stillhart co-chairs its Executive Committee.

The pledges were made against a backdrop of shrinking international aid budgets. Devex reported that ECW has also outlined plans for an outcome bond to be launched next year, as the fund looks for new ways to finance education in crises.

What happens next: ECW still needs US$58.4 million to close its US$600 million target, and the Geneva pledges will now have to be turned into funded programmes under the 2027-2030 plan.