Our Children in Conflict Group are leading work that focuses on monitoring access to education in Afghanistan following the 2021 change in government. Image Focusing on children in the midst of national changes Afghanistan is currently undergoing significant changes in leadership and national administration. This has been triggered by the withdrawal in August 2021 of USA and other foreign troops, the departure of the then Prime Minister Ashraf Ghani and the establishment of a new government led by the Taliban. Within this context, the Children in Conflict Group have initiated a project that will enable us to continue to focus on the needs of children and the implications of national change on children’s lives. Monitoring Access to Education Education – whether formal or informal, and ranging from pre-primary to tertiary and vocational learning –inevitably changes as administrations change. Our Children in Conflict Group is working to monitor access to education in Afghanistan. We seek to understand and monitor these changes in the forthcoming years, with an additional focus on girls’ education. Our work within Afghanistan is firmly situated in the University’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically: SDG 4 – ‘Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education’. SDG 5 – ‘Achieve gender equality and empower women and girls’ Our Focus Our Children in Conflict Group has identified the following key areas to assess, understand and monitor education as Afghanistan moves forward: Progress made in education in Afghanistan over past 20 years Opportunities for education as the new administration develops Impact of agreements between the new administration and global agencies Links between donor pledges and girls’ rights to education Education access for displaced children and refugees Impact of attacks on schools and hospitals Interventions used in country to safeguard children accessing education For more information about the programme of work on education in Afghanistan please email: globalhealth@ed.ac.uk Useful links Read more about the work of our Children in Conflict Group Access the resource: "Protecting Children in Armed Conflict" – developed by Theirworld, Save the Children and the Global Health Academy. Get the resource: "The Path to 2030: Achieving the SDGs for Children Living in Conflict" – published by the Children in Conflict Group (Global Health Academy, University of Edinburgh) Investing in children changes the world. We have one reason for acting: to ensure that instead of some children developing some of their potential in some of the world's countries, all children can develop all their potential in every country. Gordon Brown, UN Special Envoy for Global Education This article was published on 2024-09-24
