Access to inclusive, quality and safe education opportunities for conflict-affected children and youth in the West Bank and Gaza

The Education Cannot Wait MYRP is jointly implemented by UNICEF, UNESCO, UNDP, UNRWA and Save the Children. The programme was created in response to the chronic state of crisis and protracted conflict in Palestine, and aims to strengthen the resilience and development of the affected children, families and communities in Gaza, East Jerusalem, Hebron and Area C. The programme seeks to achieve the following results: improved access and continuity of inclusive, equitable education and learning opportunities for girls and boys, improved relevance and quality of education in a protective and safe learning environment, and strengthened capacity of the education system to respond to emergency needs and deliver a coordinated response in crises as part of the overall education system.

This multiyear resilience programme (MYRP) seeks to bridge the gap between short-term education-oriented humanitarian interventions and the broader long-term education priorities of the Ministry of Education (MoE). ECW investments help to bridge this gap by ensuring access to inclusive quality education in a safe learning environment for the most vulnerable children in the West Bank and Gaza.

The MYRP builds on existing national plans and strategies, complements current interventions and resource streams, and focuses on filling this identified gap through the provision of evidence-based and innovative interventions to support the learning needs of this target population.

UNESCO’s main interventions under the MYRP include:

• Training for teachers on inclusive, equitable and gender-responsive education
• Supporting teachers who teach in Determination Schools (schools in hospitals), and helping to equip the schools 
• Providing training to teachers on DRR safety equipment
• Supporting distance learning in Palestine, including through contributing to the establishment of the Palestine Educational TV Channel 
• Teaching and learning through sport, music and drama; also, a means of psychosocial support