EU Humanitarian Aid for Education: Helps children in need, but should be long-term and reach more girls

An estimated 64 million children in developing countries do not attend primary school. Half of these out-of-school children live in conflict-affected areas. Girls are more disadvantaged overall as they are more likely to be out of school than boys in countries affected by conflict.

The EU recently increased aid for education to 10 % of its total humanitarian aid, equating to €160 million in 2019. This aid aims to restore and maintain access to safe and quality education during humanitarian crises. It supports many types of activities including building or rehabilitating classrooms, supplying learning materials and furniture, training teachers and helping children return to school by providing cash for families and helping children catch up through accelerated education programmes.

The main purpose of the audit was to assess whether EU humanitarian aid for education was effective in helping children and was delivered efficiently. The audit covered projects in Jordan and Uganda from 2017-2019. The report aims to contribute to improving the Commission’s management in an area where funding has steadily increased in recent years.