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As schools reopen around the world, more than 10 million girls may not be able to return to the classroom — not now, not ever. As schools reopen around the world, more than 10 million girls may not be able to return to the classroom — not now, not ever.
Girls need UNICEF's help to return to school, to stay in school and to keep thriving every day.
- While school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic affected more than a billion children, girls' futures were jeopardized the most.
- Remote learning tended to be less accessible to girls than boys; some fathers reported discouraging their daughters from using the internet during COVID-19.
- As already vulnerable families were pushed deeper into poverty, the pressures on girls to go to work or to marry increased. Take away the daily structure and safety that schools provide, and the risks of early marriage, early pregnancy and child labor multiply.
- Before the pandemic, girls ages 10 to 14 were already spending roughly 50 percent more time doing chores than boys do; with schools reopening, household responsibilities — caring for siblings, feeding livestock, fetching water — are overwhelming their chances of returning to a classroom.
- Girls ages 12 to 17 are at particular risk of dropping out of school for good — and suffering layered and lasting harms as a result. Girls who complete secondary school are more likely to escape poverty and to see their own children survive and thrive.
- In Afghanistan, access to education has long been a challenge for girls. Cultural practices, displacement and other barriers continue to keep over 2 million girls out of of school.
- Over 750 schools in the eastern region of Ukraine have been damaged or destroyed by fighting since 2014. As conflict swiftly escalates in the country, heavy weapons fire has damaged even more schools. Children who are fleeing the country — with or without their families — face lifelong education losses.
Advocate on behalf of girls — urge Congress to address the barriers that keep girls from accessing a quality education, by supporting the bipartisan Keeping Girls in School Act.
Advocate on behalf of girls — urge Congress to support the bipartisan Keeping Girls in School Act.
Why donate to UNICEF? It's a smart way to make your money go further for children:UNICEF makes your online donations go further for children
- UNICEF supports education in emergencies: In Ukraine, UNICEF is supporting school staff training and working to create and maintain safe learning environments for children in conflict-affected areas. UNICEF is also working with partners to help schools strengthen capacities to deliver quality, inclusive instruction by providing education materials and supplies.
- UNICEF is working relentlessly to get girls back to school: After pandemic pauses, together with partners, UNICEF is helping countries build back stronger educational systems that address girls’ needs and bolster their progress. That means helping nations overcome setbacks in learning, supporting teachers with cash incentives and training and defending girls’ basic right to education in places like Afghanistan.
- UNICEF works nonstop to protect girls' rights: Helping girls access their basic right to learn means relentlessly supporting local programs that remove major obstacles, such as child marriage and child labor; improving access to safe water to ease the water burden; and improving sanitation and hygiene facilities in schools to facilitate attendance during girls' menstrual periods.
- UNICEF provides essential learning supplies: Books, backpacks, desks and other basics are needed to help more children — and more girls — afford and complete their education. UNICEF supplies tens of millions of children with learning materials every year.
- UNICEF levels the playing field: 2.8 million households benefited from cash assistance to meet families’ basic needs and relieve the economic pressures that can force children to go to work — not school.
- UNICEF supports education in emergencies, maintaining safe learning environments for children in Ukraine and other conflict-affected areas.
- UNICEF is helping countries build back stronger educational systems that address girls’ needs and bolster their progress.
- UNICEF's water and sanitation interventions, among other programs with local partners, effectively eliminate many of the barriers to education that girls face.
- UNICEF supplies tens of millions of children with essential items like books, backpacks and desks to support their learning every year.
- UNICEF helps relieve pressures on families that can force children to go to work, not school.
- UNICEF prioritizes the education of children with disabilities.
Meet the UNICEF workers helping kids around the world
UNICEF: saving and changing lives
13-years-old, Nanyonjo went to primary school in Eastern Uganda before COVID-19 lockdowns forced her to start listening to her math, science and English lessons on the radio. But thanks to an educational technology system UNICEF installed at her school, Nanyonjo has taken her education into her own hands.
13-years-old, Nanyonjo went to primary school in Eastern Uganda before COVID-19 lockdowns forced her to start listening to her math, science and English lessons on the radio. But thanks to an educational technology system UNICEF installed at her school, Nanyonjo has taken her education into her own hands.