Corona virus response

In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted school for over 90% of the world’s students – some 1.6 billion children – we launched our full-on Safe Back to School and Learning initiative to address the damage being done to their education and futures. The scale of COVID-19’s impact on education and the profound consequences it has for an entire generation of girls and boys is behind our commitment to keep Safe Back to School and Learning the cornerstone of our global education programming through 2024.

This year, thanks to the generosity of donors like you, our education teams in dozens of countries continue to sustain and expand pandemic-related programs for children in and out of school; make schools safe and welcoming; and refine newer approaches and digital technologies to support learning.

One example of our pandemic-related education programs are our Catch-up Clubs. We’ve previously told you about the Catch-up Club program, and we would like to update you on our progress.

In Uganda, Colombia and Myanmar, our Catch-up Club accelerated learning program is providing thousands of out-of-school children with instruction in reading that’s close to home, led by teachers and adults we’ve trained. Catch-up Clubs prepare children to return to school with refreshed skills that can help them succeed in class and reduce dropouts. “Wraparound” activities protect children from harm and provide families with cash to support children’s education.

We are scaling up Catch-up Clubs faster than we anticipated, thanks to you, our donors. The program is being introduced in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Malawi, Nigeria and the Philippines.

While schools worldwide are open, the fallout of the historic disruptions to education that the pandemic caused will linger for years. Millions of children remain out of school and may never return; girls and boys who did come back to class are still in danger of dropping out. It’s for these reasons, and for children whose education is disrupted by other emergencies, that we continue to press forward with Safe Back to School and Learning. We are grateful for your support and for sharing our aspirations for restoring a path to a better future for children worldwide.