Ensuring that children can learn in safe environments is a key priority for the World Bank, particularly in countries affected by fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV). Education plays a critical role in preventing violence, fostering peacebuilding, and developing the skills needed for stability and economic growth. Despite its importance, education receives only about 3% of global humanitarian aid, leaving millions of children vulnerable to learning disruptions caused by conflict, climate change, pandemics, and other crises. Recognizing this urgent need, the World Bank has emerged as the largest external financier of education in FCV settings.
The Bank’s investment in education for FCV contexts totals $7 billion, accounting for 27% of its education portfolio, with 42 active projects across 28 countries. An additional $1.2 billion in funding is planned for 2024 and 2025. Most of these projects are concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a growing presence in the Middle East and North Africa due to regional instability and refugee crises. The increasing share of education investments in FCV countries reflects the World Bank’s strategic commitment under its 2020–2025 FCV Strategy, which focuses on achieving results even in the most challenging environments.
As global uncertainties intensify—driven by climate change, geopolitical shifts, and the aftermath of COVID-19—the World Bank anticipates that by 2030, more than half of the world’s poor will live in FCV settings. To meet its goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity, the Bank emphasizes that education in these fragile contexts must be strengthened. Launched in 2020, the World Bank’s FCV Strategy provides a structured approach to serve vulnerable populations, while the white paper “Safe and Learning in the Midst of Fragility, Conflict, and Violence” outlines practical actions to advance this mission.
Several projects illustrate the Bank’s on-the-ground impact. In Yemen, the Restoring Education and Learning Project supports over 1,100 schools with teacher training, performance-based pay, infrastructure rehabilitation, and school feeding, reaching nearly 600,000 children. In Nigeria, the AGILE Project improves secondary school access and safety while equipping adolescent girls with skills in digital literacy, health, and self-agency. In Somalia, the Education for Human Capital Development Project expands access to primary education—especially for girls—and strengthens governance and quality assurance. In Ukraine, support includes teacher salary financing and online tutoring for displaced students, while in Cameroon, projects have helped hire over 9,000 teachers and train 60,000 more, focusing on gender-based violence prevention and psychosocial support.
To further enhance education access for displaced and refugee populations, the World Bank launched the Inclusion Support Programme for Refugee Education (INSPIRE) in 2024. INSPIRE provides technical assistance to integrate refugee children into national education systems and promotes predictable financing for host countries. The Bank also mobilized an Education and FCV Response Team to offer operational guidance, share best practices, and develop innovative solutions for education delivery in complex contexts.
Research and partnerships remain central to the World Bank’s approach. Joint studies, such as The Global Cost of Inclusive Refugee Education (with UNHCR), assess the financial requirements for integrating refugees into host country systems. The Bank collaborates with traditional partners like UNICEF, UNHCR, and Save the Children, as well as local actors, faith-based groups, and women’s organizations that bring local expertise and reach. Through these partnerships and its expanding investment portfolio, the World Bank aims to ensure that children in fragile, conflict-affected, and crisis-hit regions not only continue learning but also gain the tools to help rebuild their societies and futures.
