Insecurity: 4,300 Schools Closed In West, Central Africa – UN

The UN Aid Coordination Office says at least 14,000 schools have been closed across West and Central Africa due to violence and insecurity.

It said that by June, 2.8 million children, including many who are displaced, had been left without access to education, from Mali in the west to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the east.

The agency added that latest aid assessments indicate a volatile humanitarian situation in the region with security incidents affecting education rising a startling 103 per cent from March to June, compared with the start of the year.

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According to the UN aid office, a slight increase in the number of schools closing from March to June, compared with the previous three-month period, and a small additional number of internally displaced people and refugees, adding to pressure on services.

It highlighted that a huge lack of funding continues to hamper the humanitarian response, adding that only around a quarter of children in affected areas had access to education in the latest period under review, compared with one in two earlier in the year.