An estimated 10 million children across Nigeria, Mali, Niger, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are currently out of school due to severe regional flooding, according to Save the Children. The organisation warns that the unprecedented heavy rains have created a worsening education crisis, with schools damaged or destroyed, school buildings occupied by displaced families, and many families forced away from school zones.
The floods, which have displaced nearly one million people, are a direct result of the climate crisis, with extreme weather events becoming more frequent and severe. While back-to-school season was expected to start at the end of September, all four countries are seeing large numbers of children miss the start of the school year.
The 10 million children affected by the floods are in addition to the estimated 36 million children – over 20 million of whom are in Nigeria – already out of school in these four countries due to conflict and poverty, according to the UN.
Niger has postponed the start of the school year for at least three weeks due to the floods, impacting 3.8 million learners. The floods have also damaged, destroyed, or forced the occupation of 5,520 classrooms by displaced families.
Mali has also postponed the start of the school year by a month, affecting 3.8 million learners in primary and secondary schools.
In Nigeria, at least 3 million children are out of school in Borno state, with 2.2 million newly out of school due to statewide closures from flooding. Heavy rains have affected 30 of Nigeria’s 36 states over the past month, killing 269 people and forcing 640,000 people from their homes.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, flooding at the beginning of the year destroyed 1,325 schools and impacted over 200,000 children. As of today, at least 59,000 children are out of school, with the province of Tanganyika most affected. In May, at the peak of the flooding season, another 120 classrooms were destroyed in the province, forcing 12,000 children to miss school.
Before the flooding, 14,000 schools in Central and West Africa were already closed due to attacks and threats on education. This catastrophic situation makes the already fragile chances of access to education for thousands of children even more dire.
Vishna Shah-Little, Regional Director of Advocacy and Campaigns for Save the Children, said: “Around the world, the start of a new school year is a time of joy and hope. For many children in West and Central Africa, the start of the school year is synonymous with sadness at the sight of their homes, schools and classrooms under water. As well as seeing their families devastated and their homes destroyed, the children have to come to terms with witnessing the flooding of their education.”
Save the Children is calling for donors to support a scaled-up response to the devastating consequences of natural disasters on affected populations, especially children. The organisation is also urging governments and partners to urgently take measures to provide alternative learning opportunities for children missing out on school and ensure that schools are more resilient to extreme weather events like flooding.
