disaster
World: Breaking Barriers: Understanding Educational Exclusion in Crises – Global estimates 2026 update
Summary by Christgiving Editorial Desk · Based on reporting by Education Cannot Wait , ReliefWeb
· July 23, 2026
· 1 min read
. The latest global estimates from Education Cannot Wait (ECW) reveal that 258 million school-aged children and adolescents across 87 countries have their education affected by crises. Of these, 93 million are entirely out of school, while millions more remain enrolled but struggle to learn under co
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Summary created by Christgiving Editorial Desk — automated, rule-governed Original reporting Education Cannot Wait, ReliefWeb Original story Read at the source Source published Jul 23, 2026 Indexed here Jul 23, 2026 AI assistance Automated summary drawn from the source’s own published text Prepublication human review No — editorial rules, flagged-item review, and published samples
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Key takeaway It finds that educational exclusion is highly concentrated, with 182 million crisis-affected children – including 74 million out-of-school children – living in the world's 20 most severe crisis contexts.
Why this matters
The latest global estimates from Education Cannot Wait highlight the alarming scale of educational exclusion in crisis contexts, with 258 million school-aged children and adolescents affected across 87 countries. The concentration of educational exclusion in the world's 20 most severe crisis contexts, where 182 million crisis-affected children reside, underscores the need for targeted investment in these areas. The fact that 93 million children are entirely out of school, while millions more struggle to learn due to suboptimal conditions, suggests that efforts to promote access to education must be accompanied by initiatives to support foundational learning, retention, and progression. As the report emphasizes, the stakes are high, with learning losses threatening to jeopardize the future of an entire generation. Faith-based organizations and Christian charities, which often play a critical role in providing humanitarian relief and education support in crisis contexts, will be crucial in addressing these challenges and helping to ensure that children affected by crises have access to quality education.
About this story
Original reporting by ReliefWeb . Christgiving surfaces reporting from trusted publishers and adds local editorial context so readers can quickly understand what a story means for their community. We attribute every source, link to the original report, and follow a documented editorial standards policy. To understand how stories are selected and reviewed, read our about page .
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Category: disaster ·
Published: July 23, 2026 ·
Source: ReliefWeb ·
Reading time: 1 min
Frequently asked about this story
What is this story about? . The latest global estimates from Education Cannot Wait (ECW) reveal that 258 million school-aged children and adolescents across 87 countries have their education affected by crises. Of these, 93 million are entirely out of school, while millions more remain enrolled but struggle to learn under co
When was this published? This article was first published on July 23, 2026 by ReliefWeb and curated for Christgiving readers.
Who reported this story? This story was reported by Education Cannot Wait at ReliefWeb. To learn more about how Christgiving selects and reviews stories, see our editorial standards .
Where can I find related coverage? See more disaster coverage from Christgiving, or browse our daily briefing and topic hubs .