The number of children and adolescents whose education is disrupted by conflict and climate-related shocks has soared past 250 million, including nearly 100 million out of school altogether, according to a UN report released Tuesday.
"The number of children affected by crises has increased by 21 million in just 18 months, reaching an estimated 258 million worldwide," according to the study by Education Cannot Wait, the United Nations fund for education in crisis zones.
The report focused on school-age children and adolescents whose education had been disrupted by conflict, displacement, climate shocks and protracted socio-economic crises.
It found that 93 million children were completely out of school, and that nearly 60 percent of the 258 million affected overall lived in just nine countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan and Yemen.
Conflict and violence are the leading drivers of children dropping out of school, the report found.
"The evidence is clear: conflict and climate change are rolling back hard-won gains in education," said Maysa Jalbout, director of Education Cannot Wait.
"These findings show us where needs are greatest and where investments can have the greatest impact," she added. "Now is the time to invest in the futures of crisis-affected children."
