According to a report by the organization, the reduction in official development assistance for education is expected to reach $3.2 billion, which would lead to a 24% drop compared to 2023.

In this context, the number of children affected worldwide will increase from 272 million to 278, equivalent to emptying all the primary schools in Germany and Italy combined, the report adds.

School often becomes a lifeline that connects children with essential services such as health, protection, and nutrition, especially in emergency situations. Furthermore, it offers a real opportunity to escape poverty and build a better future, it added.

UNICEF points out that the worst consequences could be seen in Central and West Africa, where 1.9 million children are at risk of being excluded from school.

Assistance could also be drastically reduced in humanitarian contexts, where education represents much more than learning, providing essential support and a sense of stability and normalcy to traumatized children, the report notes.

Essential services such as school feeding programs, which sometimes provide the only nutritious meal of the day, could see their funding cut by more than half, it adds.

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