Education to Heal Ukrainian Children's Invisible War Scars

Associated Press

28-01-2025

GPE is helping increase the capacity of Ukraine's educators to reinforce children's psychosocial resilience.
More than 60,000 education professionals, including teachers, principals and school psychologists, are trained in psychosocial support and school safety.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Since 2022, the war in Ukraine has eroded the mental health and well-being of the population, including approximately 5 million school-age children.
' There is no single child that is not affected by the war….61% of parents have reported to us that they have major concerns about their children's mental health and well-being because they are going through trauma. Even one single air alert during the day is enough to trigger anxiety and issues. ' - Munir Mammadzade, UNICEF Representative to Ukraine
Displacement, violence and disruption of essential services has led to acute and chronic stress, anxiety, sadness, hopelessness, sleep problems, fatigue, irritability or anger among children.
' If children's mental health issues are not addressed, they cannot learn and develop to their full potential.'
Danijel Cuturic, Education Programs Coordinator, UNESCO Ukraine
Ensuring that children have access to education during crisis provides a sense of normalcy and social support through communication with peers and educators. However, according to the Ukrainian government, around 2,000 schools remain damaged or destroyed since the Russian invasion.
Approximately 1.2 million students are accessing education online or through a blended format of online and in-person learning, relying on technology to stay connected with peers and educators.
'During the whole occupation, I have dreamed of studying because I was tired of just sitting at home and doing nothing. I did a little bit of research on the Internet, saw the subjects, tried to understand them by myself, but self-study was quite difficult. The most difficult thing was to keep your spirits up, because it was psychologically pressuring, very pressuring.' - Ivan Vasiliev, grade 11 student, Snihurivka Lyceum, Mykolaiv region
Recognizing the critical need to support children through this difficult time, Ukraine has prioritized mental health within the education sector. As part of the National Program for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support led by Olena Zelenska, Ukraine's First Lady, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine is working with partners to develop policies, protocols and tools to provide students with the mental support they need.
One intervention includes training teams made up of school principals, teachers, school psychologists, security professionals, parents and caregivers across eight war-affected regions on school safety, psychosocial support and socioemotional learning.
'I have children in my class whose parents are soldiers. Some are waiting for their father or mother to call, some are waiting for both parents to call. These children need a lot of attention, support and help from teachers. We are an authority in the eyes of children, and we must be able to provide psychological help to them.' - Alyona Kolisnyk, primary school teacher, Balta Lyceum No. 2, Odesa region
'Before the war, we thought that we needed at least one professional in each school, like a psychologist. Right now, I think that all the teachers in Ukraine should have some level of experience in mental health support for their children because there are so many of them who need support from their teachers.' - Dmytro Zavgorodnii, Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Education and Science
The training is one of several interventions that was made possible thanks to a GPE Multiplier grant of US$25.5 million, which matched a total of over $25 million in cash and in-kind from Microsoft, Google and UNESCO, totaling more than $51 million in education assistance for Ukraine. The funding helps the Ministry of Education and Science provide distance learning, psychosocial support, catch-up education and other activities that are being implemented by UNESCO and UNICEF for children in conflict-affected areas.
A new GPE grant of $2.7 million, managed by the World Bank, aims to strengthen the Ministry of Education and Science's capacity to address the impact of war on students and their learning, support sector planning and implement reforms.
About GPE
GPE is the largest global fund solely dedicated to transforming education in lower-income countries, and a unique, multi-stakeholder partnership. We work to deliver quality education so that every girl and boy can have hope, opportunity and agency.
For two decades, GPE has been delivering funds and supporting solutions to build strong and resilient education systems in countries characterized by extreme poverty or conflict so that more children, especially girls, get the education they need to thrive and contribute to building a more prosperous and sustainable world.
GPE brings together all partners invested in education --lower-income countries, donors, international organizations, civil society, including youth and teacher organizations, the private sector and private foundations-- to transform education systems focusing particularly on the places and people with the greatest needs.
Our unique model has helped partner countries make significant progress in improving access, learning and equity, and achieve better outcomes for hundreds of millions of boys and girls.
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