Key facts
- Education Cannot Wait said the pledges reached over 90% of its $600 million target for the 2027-2030 plan.
- The fund praised contributions from Germany, Britain, Norway and Switzerland at the Geneva event.
- The United States, which funded the initiative in the past, was not among the new donors.
- Education Cannot Wait said the plan will focus on 10 million children, including those in Sudan and Ukraine.
Donors pledged more than $400 million to educate children in crises and war zones at a pledging event in Geneva on November 5, 2026, the UN fund for education in emergencies, Education Cannot Wait, said in a statement. The fund said the new pledges, combined with previous commitments, totaled $541.6 million against a $600 million target for its 2027-2030 plan, or more than 90% of the goal.
Education Cannot Wait praised contributions from Germany, Britain, Norway and Switzerland. The list of new donors did not include the United States, which funded the initiative in the past and has cut aid under President Donald Trump to prioritize life-saving humanitarian assistance, according to the report.
The fund said the strategic plan will focus on 10 million children, including those in conflict-hit states such as Sudan and Ukraine. The UN children's charity said earlier in the week that Russian attacks were disrupting Ukrainian schools, with air-raid alarms affecting about a quarter of children's learning hours in frontline areas such as Kharkiv.