Join the Dots to Form a Line: Education in Emergencies, Child Protection, and the potential for better humanitarian action

With no or inadequate access to education, the most at-risk children and young people face augmented threats. These include challenges related to mental health, child marriage, being forced into child labour to support themselves and their families and becoming associated with armed groups and gangs. International Humanitarian Law includes provisions to protect against these threats, and it is essential that children and young people are afforded the resources they need to protect themselves. The best way to do so is to ensure this is closely integrated into contextually appropriate, safe, quality educational programmes for vulnerable children and youth. In short, education and child protection are intrinsically linked. The global COVID-19 crisis has put vulnerable children and young people at even greater risk, and in this context the need for strong collaboration between the education and child protection sectors is even higher. The humanitarian talk will allow participants to learn and discuss the latest about the progress of education in emergencies and child protection work, in terms of both programming and coordination as well as which areas require more investment.