Neglect of education in slow-onset emergencies

'In Somalia in 2011, school enrolment rates plummeted due to the food crisis and large-scale displacement. The Education Cluster estimates that more than 1.8 million children aged 5–17 are out of school in South and Central Somalia alone – the worst-affected region, due to persistent and ongoing conflict and drought. The current education coverage and response supports only 20% of the school-age population in this zone. The availability of education for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and local host communities has not been sufficient to meet the need.  

Challenges to effectively delivering education in Somalia include:
• the lack of an appropriate curriculum
• inadequate learning spaces
• a lack of trained teachers from affected communities
• insufficient teacher remuneration and incentives for teaching
• the underlying challenge of the absence of a governance structure.  

Scarce teaching and learning materials are not enough to cover even the current low enrolment rates, made worse by the continued lack of funding for education in emergencies. 

In the Dollo Ado camp in Ethiopia and the Dadaab camp in Kenya, resident populations increased significantly during the 2011 crises – from already high levels. More than a quarter of a million Somali refugees arrived at the two camps in 2011 alone. The camps now host more than 600,000 Somali refugees, approximately 60% of whom are children. 

Providing education in the camps is particularly challenging given the chronic lack of services for the host populations in marginalised, drought-affected areas, where many refugees have settled. Many refugee children have had little or no previous access to formal education in Somalia, making it even more difficult to integrate them into the limited formal schooling in host communities. In Dollo Ado, only an estimated 15–20% of children are currently accessing education services.'

As well as East Africa, the report also discusses West Africa. Read the full report here.

Sahel - the role of education before, during, and after drought

This post is by no means exhaustive (there are far too many issues involved to cover them all in a readable blog post) and aims to address the problem of drought apparent in the Sahel at present.

Before emergency education critics jump in, it's probably necessary to note that I am not suggesting education should take precedence over more urgent needs e.g. food, rather wish to explore whether or not environmental education has a place in preventing and helping to manage such disasters. Only once the more pressing matters are met - given funding - does it seem education for the sake of education in such contexts can resume.

Current Interventions

Specific interventions include: cash transfers; water distribution; food distribution reaching the severely malnourished. 

Educational Situation

Perhaps unsurprisingly - given that there is insufficient funding for more immediate concerns - there seems to be little evidence of education activities as part of the international response. 

The importance of education prior to the onset of drought however is worth mentioning. Given that the situation is a recurring one, the question I want to ask is: could the current situation be prevented or the impact lessened in any way through appropriate educational measures? The Sahel region is prone to recurring drought therefore complete prevention is perhaps unlikely. However, are there measures that could be taken before such disasters to prevent or at least lessen their impact? 

Food Insecurity or Political Access? 

Another salient question to be asking is whether food insecurity truly is a problem as a result of the drought or whether the impact has been compounded with power hierarchies and therefore selective access to food.

Potential Risk Factors

With any kind of reform, there are risks. Some of the possibilities with regard to incorporating preventive measures into education include: protraction of the emergency i.e. extended drought, therefore preventing the application of preventive measures; whilst the international community may be receptive to such changes, the local communities may not - needs assessments here are crucial; as far as I'm aware there is no one organisation that focuses solely on education in emergency situations, or preventive projects, therefore such reforms are likely to further stretch over-burdened organisations. 

What do you think?

Is the international community right to believe and/or suggest that education can help to prevent such disasters? Do local farmers really need educating on what works best for their crop? Can environmental education before, during, and after such humanitarian crises empower people to prevent or move away from such disasters? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.