Migrations, the 23 billion dollars spent by poor countries on foreign debt interest costs as much as spending on education for 5 years of refugee children

ROME – The economic resources earmarked for interest on foreign debt by the 14 low- and middle-income countries, which also host about half of the world’s refugees, would be sufficient to guarantee the education of millions of refugee children, often deprived of opportunity to attend school, the most important opportunity to build their future. In 2020, debt interest spending by Turkey, Jordan, Colombia, Pakistan, Uganda, the Russian Federation, Sudan, Peru, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Iran (Islamic Republic), Chad, Ecuador and the Democratic Republic of the Congo totaled 23 billion dollars, and 4 of these countries have spent more on debt than on education.

The new report of Save the Children. Is titled “The price of hope” and was published by the Humanitarian Organization in view of the World Refugee Day which occurs every year on June 20th. The dossier reveals, in fact, that the fourteen main countries in the world that welcome refugees have nevertheless taken on the burden of disbursing 23 billion dollars in interest on the debt contracted with the countries of the rich part of the world, in 2020. A sum – must be reiterated – with which all refugee children could have been sent to school and educated which, according to recent data, has reached a new record of 17.5 million, a figure that does not include the recent displaced people in 2023, also due to the conflict in Sudan. According to theUNICEF To date, over 940,000 children have been displaced by the conflict.

Debt and education. The report highlights that the debt burden, generated by international loans, is threatening the ability of countries to adequately finance education for refugees, a situation that will only worsen as the number of people displaced from their homes has reached the new record of 108.4 million and some of the host states are also among the poorest in the world. Education is one of the least funded sectors in the humanitarian field. In 2021, it received just 3.1 percent of global funds.

Poverty and acceptance. Around the world, refugee children are disproportionately concentrated in low- and middle-income countries, where education and school systems struggle to meet students’ needs. More than half of all low-income countries globally are currently at high risk of debt. This means that the school of the future will receive even less financial support and the most vulnerable will pay the price: refugee children. With these data and these perspectives, Save the Children denounces that there is a concrete and real danger that an entire generation of young refugees will be deprived of the right to education. “Interest-based debt relief could play a key role in mobilizing resources for education,” said Hollie Warren, head of education at Save the Children.

Education is the least funded sector. In the wake of the pandemic that broke out in 2020, many countries prioritized spending on health and improving health services over education. The education budgets of countries dependent on development aid are facing further compression related to the choice of donors to direct the bulk of funds to remedy the consequences of the war in Ukraine. In a secondary way, the logic of financing reception in one’s own countries rather than supporting the cost of education in the poorest places also prevails.

Children out of school. According to theUNHCR Refugee children around the world miss an average of three to four years of school due to forced displacement. While the number of refugee students enrolled in schools has grown globally, the continued increase in forced displacement due to conflict, hunger and climate change means that around half of all refugee children remain out of school.

History. Sebastian, 16, has not been to school for four years after his family fled Venezuela to Colombia in search of a better life. Save the Children is helping children like him catch up in learning and acquire the skills they need to build a future. “My sisters are studying, but I couldn’t because of tuition fees. My mother doesn’t even have the money to buy me school supplies and a uniform,” he told Save the Children.

School integration. Including refugee children in the national education systems of host countries is the most effective and sustainable way to fulfill their right to education. Many host governments have policies in place to make this happen. However, without adequate international support, poorer countries with inefficient education systems are unable to handle a large influx of refugee students and therefore unable to meet their complex needs.

The world is full of refugees. There are more children displaced now than at any time in modern history. Yet hostility towards those who flee is growing. The international community is reducing the funds allocated to reception, many countries are pushing for greater border closures and the world’s poorest nations are left alone in facing not only the costs of reception but also those of education for young refugees .