Finnish MPs urge Minister to prioritise education in emergencies
With less than two weeks until Education Cannot Wait’s High-Level Financing Conference in Geneva on February 16 & 17, members of the Finnish Parliament called on the country’s Development Minister, Ville Skinnari to affirm Finland’s commitment to education in emergencies and pledge at least EUR 20 million to ECW in Geneva. The cross-party letter was sent by a group of three Finnish MPs.
The MP’s share their concern that 222 million children and adolescents affected by emergencies and protracted crises such as armed conflict, natural disasters and food insecurity are now in urgent need of education support.
“We are writing to ask that the Finnish government provide at least €20 million to ECW over the 2023-26 period. Education in emergencies should be a key priority for Finland’s humanitarian assistance because we know that crisis-affected children and communities desperately want to go to school,” said Ms Eeva-Johanna Eloranta MP.
“As a champion of quality and inclusive education, Finland must act now to empower children with the education they need to achieve their dreams and become positive changemakers for themselves, their families, their communities and our world,” said Mr Pasi Kivisaari MP.
“Finland’s support to ECW is crucial in setting an example for new and existing donor governments to help ensure ECW meets its new funding target. We all want Finland to be a reliable global citizen and to make good on its promises, including to the world’s children caught up and their education secured in humanitarian crises,” said Ms. Inka Hopsu MP.
“We are pleased to see such strong commitment to parliamentary support to ECW from various political parties within the Finnish Parliament who understand that millions of children are in desperate need of support,” said Joseph Nhan-O’Reilly, IPNEd’s Executive Director.
Education Cannot Wait’s High-Level Financing Conference on the 16-17th February in Geneva – hosted by Switzerland, and sponsored by Germany, Niger, Norway, and South Sudan – will be the opportunity for governments to turn commitments into action, by making funding contributions of at least $1.5 billion for the period 2023 - 2026.
