Education Above All pushes crisis education and financing agenda at UNGA81

Education Above All Foundation used UNGA81 in New York to press for stronger protection of education in conflict and crisis settings and for new financing tools to close a widening global funding gap. The foundation joined governments, UN agencies, lenders, philanthropies and businesses in talks on blended finance, refugee education and humanitarian response.

Why it matters: - Global education funding is under pressure while conflict and displacement continue to interrupt learning for millions of children and young people. - UNESCO’s 2026 Global Education Monitoring Report estimates a US$97 billion annual financing gap for low- and lower-middle-income countries to meet education targets by 2030. - Aid to education fell 8% between 2023 and 2024, and aid to basic education fell 16%. - UNESCO has projected that aid to education could decline by up to 30% between 2023 and 2027. - The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack recorded 9,259 attacks on education in 2024 and 2025, more than 50% higher than the previous two-year period. - At least 10,600 students, teachers, professors and education personnel were harmed in those attacks.

What happened: - Education Above All Foundation centered its UNGA81 engagement in New York on protecting education in crisis and advancing innovative financing for education. - The foundation took part in nine high-level engagements from 21 to 24 September. - Participants included governments, UN agencies, development finance institutions, philanthropies, businesses and humanitarian organisations. - CEO Mohammed Al-Kubaisi joined sessions on humanitarian education, child-lens investing, refugee opportunity, philanthropy and education finance. - Educate A Child Executive Director Dr Said Yasin joined Opportunity International’s session on non-grant capital. - Partnerships Senior Manager Dr Ali Ansari joined a technical discussion with SEEK Development and another session co-hosted by the International Finance Facility for Education and Jacobs Foundation.

The details: - At the UN Goals Lounge session, “Protecting Futures in Crisis: Building Resilience through Education and Mental Health in Humanitarian Settings,” EAA examined how education, mental health and psychosocial support can be integrated into humanitarian response. - The foundation argued that education should be treated as an essential part of humanitarian action, not as a secondary need. - The discussion linked learning with psychosocial well-being, child protection and support for teachers, caregivers and humanitarian workers. - The session also focused on ensuring emergency education creates pathways back to recognised education, further learning and economic opportunity. - EAA highlighted experience in crisis settings, including its partnership with War Child in Yemen and support for learning continuity in Gaza. - At the CAF–UNICEF event, the foundation discussed blended finance, catalytic capital and other mechanisms to increase investment in children and adolescents in Latin America and the Caribbean. - At a UNHCR and Bain & Company roundtable, the discussion focused on business contributions to education, skills, employment, entrepreneurship and investment opportunities for refugees. - EAA said its partnership with UNHCR has supported more than 1.6 million out-of-school refugee, internally displaced and host-community children across 16 countries since 2012. - At the OECD session on philanthropy’s catalytic role, EAA discussed education investment swaps, blended finance and debt-for-education approaches. - The technical discussion with SEEK Development examined the evidence behind blended finance facilities, guarantees, education bonds, outcome-based financing and debt-related mechanisms. - The IFFEd and Jacobs Foundation session focused on how philanthropic capital can complement grant-making to mobilise more resources for education and skills at scale. - The broader UNGA81 agenda also included two sessions at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting 2026.

Between the lines: - The foundation is trying to move the conversation from the size of the education financing gap to the design of the capital stack. - That shift points to a strategy built around blending philanthropic, concessional and private capital rather than relying on grants alone. - The emphasis on crisis settings also reflects a view that education systems need protection and continuity before they can recover or scale. - The cross-sector attendance suggests education finance is increasingly being treated as a shared problem for humanitarian, development and investment actors.

What’s next: - EAA Foundation said it will keep pushing practical approaches that protect education in emergencies and expand access to finance. - The foundation plans to continue working on catalytic and concessional finance, guarantees, investment swaps, non-grant capital and public-private-philanthropic partnerships. - The organization said those models should help reach children and young people facing the greatest barriers to education.

The bottom line: - EAA used UNGA81 to argue that keeping children in school during crisis and funding education at scale are now one connected challenge, not two separate ones. - More information is available in the foundation’s announcement.