Last in Line, Last in School 2008 How donors can support education for children affected by conflicts and emergencies

While donor nations can play an important role in helping children in conflict-affected countries have access to school, Save the Children released a new report, “Last in Line, Last in School 2008,” showing that most rich governments are failing to support education in countries that have been wracked by war and conflict. The new report estimates that of the $9 billion basic education aid needed worldwide, $5.2 billion should support children living in conflict-affected fragile states – or approximately $45 per school-age child. Although the number of out-of-school, primary-age children in the world has dramatically fallen from 100 million to 72 million in recent years, the situation in conflict-affected countries has seen little improvement. These countries are home to half of all the children out of school worldwide (37 million out of 72 million children) – yet they receive less than one-fifth of basic education aid.

The “Last in Line, Last in School 2008” report is part of Save the Children’s Rewrite the Future campaign, which advocates for the 37 million children who cannot go to school because of conflict in their countries.