Actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie is calling for urgent action to ensure that children around the world can return to school after the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Jolie, a special envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), will speak at a high-level virtual refugee education event co-hosted by UNESCO and UNHCR.
In her address, Jolie will emphasize schools’ critical role for children, particularly those in challenging circumstances.
“For millions of children and youth, schools are a lifeline of opportunity, a shield,” she plans to say. “Classrooms offer protection — or at least a reprieve — from violence, exploitation, and other difficult circumstances.”
Jolie will urge stakeholders to provide practical assistance to ensure children can continue their education. “Without urgent practical assistance, some of the children left without schooling due to the coronavirus may never set foot in a classroom again,” she warns.
“We must find ways to ensure access to continuity of education for young people across the world.” In support of this effort, Baroness Sugg, the UK Prime Minister’s special envoy for girls’ education, is set to announce a £5.3 million UK aid package to support teacher salaries in 10 of the world’s poorest refugee-hosting countries.
This aid is expected to help at least 300,000 vulnerable refugee children continue their education. Before the pandemic, around 260 million children were out of school worldwide, but the crisis has pushed this number to a staggering 1.5 billion in over 150 countries.
Baroness Sugg stresses the importance of prioritizing education in global recovery efforts. “Education must be prioritized in the global recovery from coronavirus. This epidemic is not just a health crisis, it is an education crisis, especially for refugee children,” she says.
“Without school and an education, they will be unable to rebuild their lives and achieve their full potential.” She calls on international partners to match the UK’s ambition in supporting children’s right to 12 years of quality education to end the cycle of displacement, poverty, and conflict.
In a different context, it’s reported that Jolie’s ongoing divorce proceedings with Brad Pitt have been delayed due to the pandemic’s impact on the legal system. Despite this, the couple’s children continue to spend time with their father.
An insider told Us Weekly, “Brad is seeing the kid,s but everything involved in their process of resolving legal matters between Angelina and Brad, including the courts, is slowed down because of COVID.”
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