UN crisis education fund gets $405.8m in pledges

Countries pledged $405.8 million on Thursday to support schooling for children affected by conflict and climate-related disasters, the United Nations fund Education Cannot Wait said.

The fund said the new pledges, together with money secured before Thursday's conference, brought promised resources to $541.6 million, or 90 percent of its $600 million target for the next four years.

Education Cannot Wait estimates that 258 million school-aged children and teenagers are affected by conflicts and climate-related disasters worldwide, including 93 million who are completely out of school.

Germany made the largest pledge, at 100 million euros, or $113 million, followed by Britain with 80 million pounds, or $108 million, and Norway with 600 million kroner, or $65 million, according to the fund's overview.

Education Cannot Wait says it builds schools, buys educational materials, provides daily meals and offers psychological support, among other services. It says it has reached more than 16 million crisis-affected children and trained nearly 300,000 teachers since its founding a decade ago.

The fund said it plans to reach another 10 million children from 2027 to 2030, half of them girls and including one million children with disabilities.