Rebuilding hope: UNICEF expands ‘Back to Learning’ for hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza

GENEVA, 27 Jan 2026 – “Today UNICEF is scaling up learning in Gaza in one of the largest emergency learning efforts anywhere in the world. Our Back to Learning program will expand to include 336,000 children.

“This is not a ‘nice to have’. It is an emergency.

“Almost two and a half years of attacks on Gaza’s schooling have left an entire generation at risk. Sixty per cent of school-aged children in Gaza currently have no access to in-person learning. More than 90 per cent of schools have been damaged or destroyed. And more than 335,000 children under five are now at risk of severe developmental delays because early childhood services have collapsed.

“Before this war, Palestinians in Gaza had some of the highest literacy rates in the world. Education was a source of pride, resilience and progress for generations. Today that legacy is under attack: schools, universities, and libraries have been destroyed, and years of progress erased.

“This is not just physical destruction - it’s an assault on the future itself, because every child denied learning is a future engineer, doctor, teacher, or thinker taken from us before they’ve had a chance to shape their world. In the aftermath of this brutal war, rebuilding Gaza’s schools, educational facilities and universities must sit at the top of Gaza’s recovery agenda. Restoring education restores possibility.

“Today, UNICEF, together with education partners in Gaza and the Palestinian Ministry of Education, is launching Back to Learning to restore access to education for hundreds of thousands of children. Our approach is simple:

We expand a network of multi-service, non-formal learning centres.

We deliver education alongside mental health and psychosocial support.

And we embed strong governance and due diligence in one of the most complex environments on earth.

“We are working with the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Education, UNRWA and all partners to ensure that all children return to a safe learning environment as soon as possible. UNICEF currently supports more than 100 learning spaces across Gaza. They give children a place to read, write and build basic maths skills - but just as importantly, a place to play, breathe, and feel human again, with activities and mental health support woven in.

“Some ask: why focus on education when families still struggle for food, water and shelter? Firstly, this is not either/or. UNICEF has, for instance, delivered one million thermal blankets, hundreds of thousands of winter clothing kits, opened more than 70 nutrition facilities across Gaza, whilst our work to get water and waste-water treatment plants back up and running remains a flagship intervention.

And secondly because in Gaza, learning is lifesaving. These centres provide safe spaces in a territory that is often inaccessible and dangerous. They deliver vital information. They restore routine. They connect children to health, nutrition and protection services. These UNICEF learning spaces also have proper toilets and places to wash hands - something too many children in shelters simply don’t have.

“And make no mistake: the demand is overwhelming. Every existing learning centre has long waiting lists. Communities are creating their own makeshift classrooms in tents and damaged buildings. Parents are pleading for places. Children are showing up anyway.

“As the world talks about how Gaza will recover and rebuild, UNICEF is clear: children have to be at the heart of every plan. Nearly half of Gaza’s population is under 18. Getting one child into a UNICEF Learning Centre costs about US $280 for a year, including mental health support. To reach 336,000 school-age children for the rest of this year, UNICEF urgently needs US$86million. (US$86 million is roughly what the world spends on coffee in an hour or two).

“Gaza has one of the strongest literacy traditions in the world. The engineers who will rebuild water systems, the doctors who will save lives, the teachers who will steady the next generation - they all come from a proud culture of learning. Back to Learning isn’t then just about survival. It’s about protecting the engine of Gaza’s future. And it is a bridge - not a substitute - to the full restoration of Gaza’s schools, so every child can return to formal education and a real classroom future.  Right now, Back to Learning is about keeping that flame alive - giving children routine, dignity, and direction again. It’s how hope becomes practical. It’s how a future gets rebuilt.”