More than 75 million children across crisis-and conflict-affected countries require urgent support to receive a quality education.  That is why today, the Send My Friend to School coalition – along with others – release a brand new report: ‘Unlock education for everyone: how the UK can ensure children affected by crises get an education.’

Our Unlock Education campaign shows that despite the global commitment in the Sustainable Development Goals that all the world’s children and youth should be able to access free, quality, safe and inclusive education by 2030, millions of children are locked out of learning because of who they are and where they live.

A child’s right to an education should not end in times of emergency. Without a quality education, these children’s futures are in jeopardy. In times of crisis, education can play a life-saving and life-sustaining role. Education sets crisis-affected children up for success and provides them with hope and the means for a strong future.

However, because of discrimination, exclusion and a lack of funding, many of these children continue to miss out on education and a chance to have a fulfilling future. Without urgent action to tackle this, progress for these marginalised children will remain slow or in some contexts, non-existent.

The UK Government, through its Department for International Development (DFID), has been at the forefront of global efforts to scale up investment, expertise and collaboration in education in emergencies and protracted crises. With DFID’s Education Policy: Get Children Learning, including a strong focus on children affected by crisis, the UK now has an unparalleled opportunity to take a global lead in this area.

Our new report, launched today, recommends that the UK Government can seize this opportunity by acting on four key areas:

• More and better funding, including a £75m commitment to Education Cannot Wait
• Increase support to teachers in crises
• Support the Global Compact on Refugees
• Reaching the hardest-to-reach adolescent girls

For more information on this four-point plan – check out the report here.