A/66/269 are out of school. 38 Education is also at risk from natural and man-made disasters: an estimated 875 million schoolchildren live in high seismic risk zones and hundreds of millions more face regular flood, landslide, extreme wind and fire hazards, as well as slow onset disasters. 39 61. General Assembly resolution 64/290 reflects States’ recognition of the urgency of ensuring the realization of the right to education as an integral element of humanitarian assistance and response. Debate and research efforts within the United Nations system are helping to unveil what has been called a “hidden crisis” by the EFA Global Monitoring Report. Thematic days of discussion focused on the topic were conducted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2008 and the General Assembly in 2009. 62. Increased and more coordinated attention to education among the stakeholders providing humanitarian assistance remains a key concern. The recent partnership between The Sphere Project and the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) in preparing the companionship agreement guiding the integration of quality education in humanitarian response represents an important step in the promotion of more coherent and dedicated attention to education within the humanitarian community. Traditionally excluded from humanitarian priorities, the restoration of access to education continues to be cited as a priority by families and young people affected by emergencies. 40 Responding to the needs identified by communities affected is an essential component of humanitarian responses, and central to the implementation of the right to education. 63. Despite the increased recognition of the importance of education in emergencies by the international community and by communities affected by emergencies, funding remains extremely limited. Only a few donor agencies have explicitly included education as part of their humanitarian policies. 41 The EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2011 underlined that in 2009, the share of humanitarian aid dedicated to education in conflict-related emergencies represented merely 2 per cent of total humanitarian aid. 42 It concluded: Education is the poor neighbour of a humanitarian aid system that is underfinanced, unpredictable and governed by short-termism. It suffers from a double disadvantage: education accounts for a small share of humanitarian appeals, and an even smaller share of the appeals that get funded. 43 64. Evaluations indicate that some particularly fragile countries requiring education funding are left behind, with donors clearly prioritizing countries linked with their security priorities: official development assistance to fragile States is __________________ 38 39 40 41 42 43 11-44589 UNESCO, EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2011, p. 15. International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies and World Bank, Guidance Notes on Safer School Construction (New York, INEE; Washington, World Bank Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, 2009). INEE, INEE Reference Guide on External Education Financing (New York, 2010). Until 2010, Canada, Denmark, Japan, Norway and Sweden included education in their humanitarian aid policies. In 2011, donor agencies in Australia (AusAID) and the United States of America (USAID) reflected education in emergency situations and conflict-affected countries, respectively, in their education strategies. See Save the Children, “Making it happen: financing education in countries affected by conflict and emergencies”, 2011. UNESCO, EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2011, p. 204. Ibid., p. 19. 15