Girls in a classroom. Photo by Education Cannot Wait (ECW)
Children in Niger are facing a deepening crisis that threatens their education and future.
Conflict, poverty, climate shocks, and mass displacement are combining to push thousands of boys and girls out of school.
To respond, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) – the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and its donor partners have announced a US$7 million investment to keep 100,000 children in school.
The First Emergency Response grant seeks to reach displaced, refugee, and host community children with holistic education opportunities.
The funding will be delivered by Save the Children, working closely with the Government of Niger.
Importantly, 25% of the fund will go to national organizations, ensuring local leadership in the response.
The program will focus on the crisis-affected regions of Tillabéri and Tahoua, where insecurity, flooding and poverty have left thousands of children without safe access to learning.
The new initiative will provide more than just classrooms. It will train and support teachers, promote social-emotional learning, and strengthen child protection measures.
The program will also build the skills of local communities so they can sustain these gains in the long term.
“In an emergency situation, education is not a luxury: it is a shield that protects girls and boys, and a driving force that transforms communities. Thanks to the First Emergency Response, thousands of children in Tillabéri and Tahoua will have access to quality education, which is essential for their physical, psychosocial and cognitive protection,” said Anda Oumarou, Director of Save the Children Niger.
The needs are urgent. In 2024, internal displacement rose by 12%, forcing around half a million people to flee their homes.
According to the Education Cluster, more than 1,000 schools have closed. Climate change has added another layer of disruption.
Floods damaged over 5,500 classrooms last year, leaving families with nowhere to send their children. In Tillabéri and Tahoua, more than half of households have no access to distance learning, which makes recovery even harder.
Education offers hope in this difficult context. Schools are not only places to learn; they also protect children from early marriage, child labor and recruitment by armed groups.
Keeping children in education strengthens resilience and helps communities rebuild after crisis.
This is not ECW’s first intervention in Niger.
Since its launch, the fund has invested US$22.9 million in the country through Multi-Year Resilience Programs and First Emergency Response grants.
These programs have already reached over 440,000 children with holistic, quality education.
The new investment builds on these results and aims to prevent an entire generation from being left behind.
About Education Cannot Wait (ECW)
Education Cannot Wait is the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, hosted by the United Nations. ECW works to ensure that all children – including refugees, internally displaced and other crisis-affected girls and boys – can access quality learning.
The fund connects urgent humanitarian action with longer-term development, helping governments and communities recover faster.
ECW partners with governments, donors, UN agencies, civil society and local organizations to expand access to education in the world’s toughest crises.
