Early Recovery and Education

What is “early recovery”?

Early recovery, as defined by UNDP, is an approach that is guided by development principles that begins in a humanitarian setting and seeks to enter transition by ‘building back better’ and generate or restore nationally-owned processes for post-crisis recovery that are resilient and sustainable.

The development of the early recovery approach is in synch with the increased attention and commitments toward greater accountability of aid projects and the imperative to achieve a successful transition from assisted recovery to self-sustaining resilience in states affected by disasters, crisis or conflict.

It encompasses the restoration of basic services, livelihoods, shelter, governance, security and rule of law, environmental and social dimensions.  In the field, the early recovery process involves a multitude of partners including government ministries and/or relevant departments, local authorities, global and local NGOs, CBOs, international financial institutions and the private sector.

The implementation of early recovery as a multi-faceted, intersectoral approach is gaining momentum through the UN’s Inter-Agency Standing Committee.  Created in response to recommendations in a UN review that revealed gaps in systematic humanitarian response, since 2005 the IASC Cluster Working Group on Early Recovery (CWGER) has sought to streamline the humanitarian response with longer-term development goals and principles.

Education and early recovery

Education has a role in early recovery as a basic service provision as well as being a key contribution to longer term recovery and development.  Revitalizing education provision in fragile contexts can pave the way toward greater coordination and communication across sectors, and can boost nationally owned, sustainable programmes in education and beyond.  Furthermore, education’s visibility can serve as a ready indicator of the implementation of the early recovery approach.

As are all the other sectors represented in the IASC cluster system, education is a component of early recovery.  At the global level, 30 agencies from humanitarian and development communities are members of the Cluster Working Group on Early Recovery including INEE and the Education Cluster.  As members of the CWGER, INEE and the Education Cluster work to enhance a voice for education in early recovery activities and mainstream early recovery practice into education humanitarian response.

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