Strengthening Education in Emergencies: UNESCO Regional Consultation for (2025–2030)

Key Outcomes of the Consultation

The consultation highlighted the urgent context: the Arab region faces escalating conflicts, forced displacement, natural disasters, public health crises, and socio-economic challenges. Approximately 53 million children are in need of humanitarian assistance, including over 6.9 million internally displaced children and 6.4 million refugees. An estimated 30 million children are out of school, placing them at risk of learning loss, psychosocial distress, and protection violations, particularly for the most vulnerable groups.

The consultation reinforced a strong commitment by national and regional actors to the goals of the Strategic Framework, paving the way for its effective implementation at both country and regional levels. Building on this shared commitment, participants consolidated priorities and thematic focus areas to ensure the framework responds directly to the urgent needs, challenges, and opportunities facing education in emergencies across the Arab region. To translate these priorities into action, stakeholders also identified mechanisms for inter-agency coordination and partnerships, creating a foundation for collective advocacy, strategic collaboration, and alignment with national and regional education strategies.

Next Steps

The consultation represents a strategic step toward finalizing the UNESCO Strategic Framework on Education in Emergencies for the Arab Region (2025-2030) . A high-level event for launching the strategic framework will be followed up to secure political, financial, and technical commitments to implement the strategy across the region, and to promote collaboration among humanitarian, development, and peace actors across the Arab region.