On International Education Day, 24 January, Action Education Switzerland is sounding the alarm about a year of unprecedented cuts in international solidarity. What should have been a celebration of the fundamental right to education actually marks the first anniversary of a global earthquake: the massive withdrawal of international funding, which began a year ago with the sudden freezing of USAID programmes.

24 January should be a day of celebration. But for millions of children around the world, the school light is going out. In January 2025, the dismantling of USAID, the US development agency, deprived the humanitarian and development sector of one of its main donors. One year on, the facts are clear: this withdrawal has triggered a global domino effect. Under the guise of national or security budget priorities, many governments are cutting back on official development assistance, jeopardising the future of entire generations.

The American shockwave: a year of silence

Since the US funding freeze, the humanitarian and development sector has been in a state of asphyxiation. Thousands of contracts have been terminated overnight, leaving many organisations facing devastating «stop work orders». For some NGOs, US funding represented up to 30 %, or even 45 % of their budget.

Pupil in a classroom in Battaambang Bavel district, Cambodia. ©Cindy Cao

The impact is not just financial: it is human. In the space of a year, the sudden closure of health, nutrition and education programmes has put the lives of millions of people at risk. According to the most alarming prediction models, including those published in The Lancet, up to 14 million avoidable deaths could occur by 2030 if this trend continues, including 4.5 million children.

Europe and Switzerland: the contagion of renunciation

Faced with the US withdrawal, European countries, including Switzerland, could have acted as a buffer. Most of them opted to withdraw. Several countries have announced major cuts in their official development assistance, including in key sectors such as education.

Switzerland is no exception to this worrying trend. Historically renowned for its commitment to international cooperation, it has recently taken decisions that undermine its support for education in partner countries. As have other European donors, Switzerland has reduced, This is despite the fact that this sector is crucial for the least developed countries, particularly in Africa.

Between 2021 and 2023, a small number of donor countries - including the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland - accounted for almost two-thirds of international aid to education. The withdrawal or weakening of these players therefore has an immediate and massive impact on the most fragile education systems.

Students from the SAQUEL project in the town of Lakhimpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. Pradesh, India © Wungmaya Lunghar

Six million children on the brink of disaster

The consequences for education worldwide are dramatic. Some countries traditionally involved in this sector have ceased all funding for basic education, while others have drastically reduced their support. The United States has frozen most of its education programmes, resulting in the closure of more than 165 education programmes around the world.

According to UNICEF, international aid to education could fall by $3.2 billion by the end of 2026. This drop could increase the number of out-of-school children and young people worldwide from 272 million to 278 million, an additional six million - the equivalent of all the primary school pupils in Germany and Italy combined.

UNESCO is also warning of an estimated reduction of 25 % in international funding allocated to education between 2023 and 2027, twice as much as initially estimated. Several partner countries risk seeing their education systems collapse: some could lose up to half of their external aid to education. The cuts are hitting primary education and education in emergency situations particularly hard, at a time when needs have never been greater. The decline in funding for girls' education is particularly alarming, exposing them once again to early marriage, exploitation and exclusion.

A young girl smiles for the camera in a classroom in Conakry, Guinea. Ibrahima Bah

International Education Day: Action Education's cry of alarm and public mobilisation

In the face of this global crisis, Action Education is sounding the alarm: the US funding freeze and the European cuts are not technical inevitabilities, but political choices. Choices that jeopardise the future of millions of children and young people.

To mark International Education Day, Action Education is calling on international donors - including Switzerland - to maintain and increase funding for education, to align it with the real needs of populations and to support a fairer and more sustainable mobilisation of resources.

Action Education has come up with a new exhibition to highlight this emergency, which is all too often overlooked.« Education is an emergency! Let's take action. "
Through its history, projects and mobilisations, the organisation demonstrates that education cannot be a budgetary adjustment variable. It is the essential foundation for fighting inequality, preventing crises and conflicts, and tackling climate change.

Because the future of millions of children depends on it, Action Education calls on Switzerland and all donor countries to :

• maintain their commitment to international cooperation and education funding; ;
• prioritise basic education and education in emergency situations in the most vulnerable countries; ;
• increase aid to the least developed countries, giving priority to financing in the form of grants; ;
• provide lasting support for multilateral mechanisms dedicated to education; ;
• support partner countries in devoting a sufficient proportion of their national budgets to education; ;
• ensure that any funding involving the private sector respects the central role of the public education service.

Education is not a cost. It is a vital investment in a fairer, more stable and more inclusive future.