Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the United Nations’ fund for schooling in crises, said it approved a US$3.5 million grant to help restore education for Rohingya refugee children in Bangladesh as aid shortfalls force widespread classroom closures.
The First Emergency Response allocation targets 180,000 children in Cox’s Bazar, home to the world’s largest refugee camp.
UNICEF will implement the programme with local groups including CODEC, Jagorani Chakra Foundation, BRAC, Mukti Cox’s Bazar, Friendship and COAST Foundation, ECW said.
The funding will expand access to basic and informal learning in safer, “protective” settings, according to the partners, after a deterioration in services this year.
Humanitarian financing has lagged needs, with only about half of the Joint Response Plan mobilised to date, and more than 3,600 learning facilities from early childhood through Grade 4 closed as of June 2025.
Camps in Cox’s Bazar host hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who fled Myanmar, and education services have been repeatedly disrupted by funding gaps, security incidents and infrastructure constraints.
Aid agencies say that keeping children in school reduces protection risks and helps retain language and numeracy skills for eventual return or resettlement.
ECW, which backs education in emergencies and protracted crises through the UN system, said the grant is aimed at quickly bridging the latest gaps while larger multi-year programmes continue.
UNICEF said the support would prioritise inclusive access and learning continuity in the camps and surrounding host communities.
Business News Asia
