untitled

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the members of the Children in a Changing Climate
coalition for their case studies, use of quotes and feedback.

Additional thanks go to Antony Spalton at UNICEF Geneva for his support
and comments.

Any errors and omissions remain the authors’ own.

Photo Credits: UNICEF, Plan International, Thomas Tanner, Tamara Plush
and Katherine Haynes

Edited by Dee Scholley and Fran Seballos

2009 Children in a Changing Climate, Brighton: IDS

Front cover – A boy of 7, paints

during an art therapy session at
Beautiful Gate, near Cape Town

Above – A young boy harvests

food from the school garden,
El Salvador

Back cover – The aftermath of the

tsunami in the Maldives, by a 9
year old boy

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

CBDRM

Community Based Disaster Risk Management

CBO

Community Based Organisation

CCC

Children in a Changing Climate

CDMP

Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme

CFDRR

Child Focussed Disaster Risk Reduction

CFS

Child Friendly School

CLDRR

Child-Led Disaster Risk Reduction

CO Children’s

Organisation

CRA

Community Risk Assessment

CRC

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

DRR

Disaster Risk Reduction

DMA

Disaster Management Agency

ECHO

European Commission on Humanitarian Aid

HVCA

Hazard Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment

IDS

Institute of Development Studies

IEC

Information Education Communication

IFRC

International Federation of the Red Cross

INGC

Instituto Nacional de Gestão de Calamidades - National
Institute for Disaster M anagement

LG Local

Government

MOD

Masters of Disaster

MoE

Ministry of Education

NAPA

National Adaptation Programme of Action

NGO

Non Government Organization

OCHA

Ofﬁce for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

ODPEM

Ofﬁce of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management

POPI

People’s Oriented Program Implementation

PRA

Participatory Rural Appraisal

SMA

Scouts Musulmans Algériens

UNDP

United Nations Development Programme

UNFCCC

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

UNICEF

United Nations Children’s Fund

UNISDR

United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

VCA

Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment

WHO

World Health Organization

Acronyms

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

This report reviews child-focused and child-led disaster risk reduction
approaches and techniques. It documents a number of case studies across
a range of interventions, dividing these into three main areas: Knowledge,
Voice and Action. It makes some observations regarding current practice and
recommendations that imply a shift in emphasis going forward.

The report coincides with and celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), as well as the development of a new
international agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC). Where the articles in the CRC are particularly relevant they have been
highlighted in the report.

It contributes to a series of outputs from the Children in a Changing Climate
coalition. This Coalition brings together leading research and development
organisations, each with a commitment to sharing knowledge, co-ordinating their
actions and working with children as protagonists rather than just as passive victims.
For more information please visit:

www.childreninachangingclimate.org

The wording used is from the UNICEF State of the World’s Children 2009 report celebrating the
twentieth anniversary of the CRC

Background

Scenes of the tsunami and its

immediate aftermath by Pattama
Muansuwan, 13 years old,
Thailand

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Today’s children will bear a disproportionate share of the impact, both in the
immediate and longer-term. Children are highly vulnerable to climate change and
disaster impacts, while those of them living in marginal environments and situations
of poverty are more vulnerable still.

The agencies forming the Children in a Changing Climate coalition (CCC)
recognise that steps must be taken to reduce the risks to children from disasters. This
report highlights some of the disaster risk reduction (DRR) activities focused on or led
by children that CCC members and others have undertaken with children in different
communities across the world.

We know that DRR efforts cannot properly account for children’s needs unless
speciﬁc attention is paid to this during the design and implementation of any
intervention. Such DRR can be said to be ‘child-centred’ or ‘child-focused’. We also
know that engaging children directly in the design and delivery of DRR activities can
have many beneﬁts. This work is referred to as ‘child-led’ DRR and covers a broad
spectrum of actions.

This report characterises DRR interventions involving children along a continuum
from expanding Knowledge, to enhancing Voice, to taking Action. This is further
delineated as Action to Protect, to Inﬂuence and ﬁnally to Transform. The report
discusses case studies along this continuum. It ﬁnds that to date effort and success
have focused more on the earlier part of this continuum, with much learning available
from initiatives to expand and transfer Knowledge and enhance Voice and, to a
degree taking Action to Protect. The report recommends that the balance of effort
could now shift, to focus more on supporting children engaged in Action to Inﬂuence
and to Transform.

The report also ﬁnds that although much work has been done with local
communities, and some with local and regional governments, as one moves up to
national and international levels there is less activity. In particular, although there has
been growing engagement of youth in national and international arenas, under-18s
– who have speciﬁc needs as children as well as a right to determine the world in
which they will live as adults – have been less engaged. To achieve inﬂuential and
transformative change, more work at this level is required. If more DRR is focused on
Action, the report also suggests that greater engagement with international processes
and private sector interests could yield beneﬁts, as illustrated in the mining case study
on page 32. This approach to DRR is more challenging – for adults and children
alike – and therefore currently under-explored.

The report also suggests that as the cost-effectiveness of DRR activities is well
understood, it could be helpful for CCC to emphasise the additional economic
beneﬁts from delivering DRR with children, where the costs may well be lower
and the beneﬁts stream higher (using a lifetime analysis and taking into account
intergenerational beneﬁts). Importantly for DRR practitioners, this will require a shift in
the way such interventions are assessed. More evidence is needed on the outcomes
of DRR projects – for example, conﬁrming anticipated improvements in child survival,
educational attainment, health and well-being.

Child-led and child-focused DRR cannot solve everything. However, given the
considerable beneﬁts that appear to derive from it, both social and economic, it
deserves a greater share of effort and expenditure. The balance of that effort should
now shift, emphasising inﬂuential and transformative action to secure the future of
today’s children.

Executive

Summary

We live in a world that is
increasingly affected by disasters.
Recent decades have seen
signiﬁcant growth in the number
of reported disasters such as
droughts, ﬂoods and cyclones.
More people are being adversely
affected by these events. The
science tells us that this trend
is likely to be exacerbated by
climate change.

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

We live in a world that is increasingly affected by disaster events. Recent
decades have seen signiﬁcant growth in the number of reported disasters
– such as ﬂoods, cyclones and drought. More and more people are being
adversely affected by these events, with Asia particularly hard hit by rapid onset
emergencies

and the negative impacts persist into the long-term, well beyond

initial mortality and infrastructural damage to include negative impacts on
health, education, nutrition and morbidity.

The science tells us that this trend is

likely to be exacerbated by climate change.

Today’s children will bear a disproportionate share of the impact, both in the
immediate and longer-term, as documented by a number of recent reports.

Children

all over the world are highly vulnerable to climate change and disaster impacts,
while those of them living in marginal environments and situations of poverty are
more vulnerable still. The high mortality and morbidity rates among children during
and after extreme events was particularly evident following the 2004 Indian Ocean
Tsunami, where the largest numbers of fatalities were women and those under the
age of ﬁfteen.

Climate change impacts are projected to increase the numbers of

children affected by disasters, from an estimated 66.5 million per year in the late
1990s, to as many as 175 million per year in the coming decade.

The agencies forming the Children in a Changing Climate coalition

(CCC)

recognise that greater steps must be taken to reduce the risks to children from
disasters. This report highlights some of the disaster risk reduction (DRR) activities that
CCC members and others have undertaken with children in different communities
across the world.

The CCC coalition has worked to encourage all agencies working in DRR to
recognise and respond to children’s speciﬁc vulnerabilities. More recently, several
initiatives have worked to facilitate children’s active participation and agency
in efforts to prevent, prepare for, cope with, and adapt to climate change and
extreme events. Such initiatives cover curriculum development in schools, teacher
training, knowledge-transfer through a range of media and increasingly they enable
child participation through rights-based approaches, children’s engagement in
related policy spaces, and child-centred risk communication. These approaches
stress children’s ability to participate in DRR activities in their homes, schools
and communities, whilst learning about disasters and climate change. They also
acknowledge children’s role in communicating risks to their peers and relatives,

Introduction

EM-DAT: The International Disaster Database, CRED 2009 www.emdat.be/

These are reviewed in some detail in Back, E. And Cameron,, C. (2008) Our climate, our children, our
responsibility, UNICEF UK

See for example: Oxfam (July 2009) ‘Suffering the science: climate change, people and poverty’;
Research from Children in a Changing Climate www.childreninachangingclimate.org and research by
IDS www.ids.ac.uk; Stone, L. and Loft, K. (2009) ‘Climate Change, Child Rights and Intergenerational
Justice’, IDS In Focus Policy Brieﬁng 13.2 Brighton: IDS

Telford J, Cosgrave J, Houghton R. (2006) Joint Evaluation of the international response to the Indian
Ocean tsunami: Synthesis Report. Tsunami Evaluation Coalition: London; McMicheal, A. Friel, S.
Nyong, A. and Corvalan C. (2008) Global environmental change and health: impacts, inequalities
and the health sector, BMJ, 336: 191–194.

Penrose A, Takaki M. (2006) Children’s rights in emergencies and disasters. The Lancet. 367: 698-
699; Save the Children UK (2007) Legacy of Disasters: The impact of climate change on children; Save
the Children UK (2009) Feeling the Heat: Child Survival in a Changing Climate.

Action Aid, Footprint Friends, IDS, NCB, Plan International, Risk Frontiers, Save the Children UK,
UNICEF UK, Interclimate Network, World Vision

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

as well as providing practical and creative ideas to help their families and
communities recover from disasters.

There is good evidence to show that DRR can be one of the more cost-effective
development interventions. DRR saves lives and protects other valuable and
scarce resources such as food, livestock and property. Crucially, it also promotes
early and cost-effective responses to climate change risks and will be required
on an accelerating scale from now on. We know that development assistance is
increasingly being diverted into emergency and distress assistance.

However, it

is much more cost-effective to invest in more and better DRR. The US Geological
Survey and the World Bank estimated that an investment in DRR of $40billion would
have prevented losses of $280billion in the 1990s.

In India, DRR programmes

yielded a cost-beneﬁt ratio of 13.38.

i.e. for every $1 invested, beneﬁts – or in the

case of DRR averted costs – of $13.38 arise. In Nepal, a study by the Red Cross
found that DRR initiatives yielded a cost-beneﬁt ratio of 15.

However, as the Nepali Red Cross have observed, the weakness of typical cost-
beneﬁt analyses is that they do not take into consideration most of the social beneﬁts
and behavioural change that can deliver so much value. The Red Cross/Red

Children ﬁlm impacts at a

small-scale mining site
Caga-ut, Philippines

Tanner TM et al. (2009). Children, Climate Change and Disasters: An Annotated Bibliography.
Children in a Changing Climate Brighton: IDS; Tanner, TM eet al. (2009) ‘Children’s participation in
community-based disaster risk reduction and adaptation to climate change’. Participatory Learning and
Action 60 54-64; Peek L. (2008) Children and Disasters: Understanding Vulnerability, Developing
Capacities and Promoting Resilience – An Introduction. Children, Youth and Environments 181, 1-29;

Up from 4.8 per cent 1990-94 to 7.8 per cent in 2003

ERM (2006) Natural disaster and DRR measures – a desk review of costs and beneﬁts

Op.cit.

Krishna Kumar K.C. and Daniel Kull (June 2009) At the Global Platform for DRR, Nepal Red Cross

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Crescent Society is trying to integrate a cost-beneﬁt tool into their existing community-
level vulnerability and capacity assessments (VCAs). Using this tool, communities can
try to assess which interventions might be most cost-effective before a project starts.

We can extrapolate from standard DRR interventions to child-focused and child-led
actions, and deduce that they are likely to be at least as cost-effective and possibly
more so, given that the opportunity cost of children’s time is likely to be lower, and
close to zero where activities are integrated into the school curriculum. Further, where
children learn and practice DRR from a young age the beneﬁts stream is integrated
into the rest of their adult lives, yielding a higher beneﬁt than when adults acquire
the same skills, and embedding the changed behaviour early enough for it to be
passed on to subsequent generations. There is thus a very strong economic case for
enhancing and expanding child-focused and child-led DRR.

We know that DRR efforts cannot properly account for children’s needs unless
speciﬁc attention is paid to this during the design and implementation of any
intervention. Such DRR can be said to be ‘child-centred’ or ‘child-focused’. Protecting
children from harm is paramount, and considerable attention is paid to the speciﬁc
ways that children are vulnerable to disaster events and their consequences.

We also know that engaging children directly in the design and delivery of DRR
activities can have many (sometimes unplanned) beneﬁts. This work is referred to as
‘child-led’ DRR and covers a broad spectrum of actions. For example, children might
implement DRR projects in their community. At the other end of the spectrum, children
can and do engage with the media or with local governance structures, to inﬂuence
decisions which affect the local environment and level of risk borne by communities.

Child-led DRR is not yet widespread, mainstreamed within DRR policy and practice,
or indeed fully understood. This report seeks to change that by documenting case
studies in child-focused and child-led DRR from across the world, and drawing out
trends and lessons to inform future policy and practice.

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Children as prepared and empowered citizens
Helps to reduce immediate impacts of climate change and disasters on children.

This has particular relevance for Article 6 of the CRC.

This section starts at the most commonly understood level of child-focused DRR,
looking at interventions or behaviours that enable children to situate their own lived
experience within newly acquired knowledge about climate change and disasters.
This often includes facilitating the use of tools to analyse, plan and implement risk
reduction and adaptation measures. Examples include: training and awareness
raising; knowledge based exchanges (e.g. through schools); the use of analytical
tools such as vulnerability and capacity assessments (VCA); and basic disaster
preparedness drills. These activities are valuable in their own right, and are also
important foundations for more ambitious efforts. Here, we review ﬁve case studies
and discuss the learning points from them.

The ﬁrst step in any disaster-prone community is to secure the environments in which
children live, play and learn. This is often an entry point to engaging children in
discussions about disaster risk in the classroom, though this is most effective when
specialist curriculum materials are developed and used. There is a wealth of case
studies using children’s schools as the focal point for DRR efforts, addressing both the
physical infrastructure and the curriculum, alongside extra-curricular or out-of-school
activities. This is appropriate because, in many societies, the school building is the
only place outside the home where children congregate.

The example of the public school shelter construction programme in Kansas, on the
following page, illustrates the importance of good school design to broader DRR
efforts. Elsewhere, for example in Bangladesh, schools have been ﬂood-proofed by
raising buildings above the seasonal ﬂood level

or even ﬂoating them.

Without

secure school buildings, children cannot be kept safe at school and their learning may
be disrupted. Conversely, as schools are adapted, this presents an ideal opportunity
to revise emergency procedures, update ﬁrst aid and safety equipment, educate
staff and students on how to cope in an emergency, and undertake disaster
preparedness drills. Often, this leads naturally into DRR curriculum development
and other DRR activities.

Chars Livelihood Programme (DFID/Maxwell Stamp) ‘Providing Infrastructure’ http://www.clp-
bangladesh.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=82&Itemid=79

‘Floating Solar Powered Schools in Bangladesh’ http://www.ivili.org/video/

ﬂoating-solar-powered-schools

Expanding knowledge

Child in the Philippines
Child-Led Disaster Risk Reduction: a
Practical Guide, Save the Children

“ I’m not scared of any

disasters anymore
because I already know
what to do.”

CRC Article 6

Life, survival and development. Every child has the inherent right to life, and the
State has an obligation to ensure the child’s survival and development.

Children in El Salvador take part

in facilitated groups

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Keeping school children safe in Kansas

The US state of Kansas suffers many tornadoes. In the course of one severe
event in 1999, several schools – and their safe areas – were damaged.
Fortunately, schools were closed at the time, but the incident served as a
warning bell: schools had to do more to keep children safe.

Wichita Public School District took decisive action to protect children by
instigating a school shelter initiative, which involved retroﬁtting or constructing
speciﬁc tornado shelters using advanced engineering. This spurred a broader
shelter construction programme involving private and public schools right across
Kansas. Many schools now have secure rooms – which are used as libraries,
gyms or other facilities when not needed as shelters, thus ensuring they are well
maintained and familiar to the school community.

The Wichita initiative was successful because it focused on educating and
engaging a range of responsible actors, including:

The local legislature and school boards, on the beneﬁts of funding school
shelter projects;

Local school and planning ofﬁcials, on how to build, equip and operate
successful shelters;

The private sector, such as architects and engineers, on shelter design and
construction;

School staff, so shelters are maintained and emergency procedures
established and practiced;

Schoolchildren themselves – most importantly – so they understand the hazards
posed by severe wind events and know where and how to seek shelter.

In addition, strict design and construction criteria were set by state and federal
agencies. Strong interagency co-operation helped to plan local projects and
ensure standards were enforced. As one Kansas State ofﬁcial said, “All the
warning time in the world doesn’t do any good unless there is a refuge area
for our children to go.”

Adapted from: ‘Protecting School Children from Tornadoes: State of Kansas
School Shelter Initiative’ FEMA, US Department of Homeland Security, 2002

CASE STUDY 01

Once steps have been taken to secure children’s environment, it is important to put in
place contingency measures that ensure continuity of vital services – such as health
and education – that affect child well-being. In Bolivia, signiﬁcant attention has been
given to ensuring that schooling can continue during and immediately after disasters.
The Ministry of Education and UNICEF have worked together to ensure access
to formal educational services by children most affected by disasters, particularly
girls and children from indigenous communities. This is discussed in the case study
opposite.

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Maintaining educational services during

disasters in Bolivia

Bolivia has suffered three consecutive years of natural disasters due to
landslides, hailstorms, frosts and ﬂash ﬂoods. These disasters hit the already
vulnerable indigenous populations especially heavily.

The Bolivian Ministry of Education (MoE) and UNICEF have worked together
to ensure access to formal educational services by the children most affected
by disasters. Now an emergency component has been mainstreamed into this
ongoing programme.

The aim is to prevent major disruptions to children’s education during disasters or
their immediate aftermath – with speciﬁc attention paid to the needs of girls and
other vulnerable children – and to equip children, families and schools with the
knowledge and skills they need to cope when disasters strike.

The emergency component was implemented in 2008 in ﬁve Bolivian
departments and included:

Providing and promoting safe school transport during and after emergencies;

Developing emergency preparedness and response plans at national,
departmental and community levels, and undertaking school mapping;

Training administrators, educators and families on disaster risk reduction and
minimum standards of education in emergencies and strengthening teachers’
networks and peer learning;

Developing national Child Friendly School (CFS) architectural standards;

Integrating disaster risk management into national and local curricula and
extra-curricular activities, speciﬁcally strengthening human rights education and
life skills;

The ﬁrst three of these are relatively straightforward to implement, the latter two
can take longer. UNICEF believes this intervention could be easily replicated in
other parts of Bolivia, the broader region or the globe. Teaching and learning
materials are being produced by the Bolivian MoE with UNICEF and could be
used in other similar contexts.

Adapted from: ‘Access to Quality Basic Education for All Children in
Emergencies’ UNICEF 2009

CASE STUDY 02

In the following case study from Zimbabwe, the school is again the focal point for
knowledge transfer, but the emphasis is on encouraging behaviour change to ensure
good hygiene practice. The initiative combines curriculum development with provision
of basic hygiene kits and teacher training. It is therefore a good example of a DRR
activity focused on giving children the knowledge and skills they need to minimise
risks arising from disasters – in this case, the spread of waterborne diseases such as
cholera due to ﬂooding and poor sanitation.

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Reducing the risks from cholera in Zimbabwe

Children in Zimbabwe experience a lot of illness and many struggle to
attend school. More than 98,550 suspected cases of cholera were reported
by 22 June 2009 (OCHA), with 4,282 resulting deaths. The current cholera
outbreak is waning, but many causal factors will persist into the next rainy
season. Preventative measures are needed.

Many Zimbabwean schools suffer a lack of safe water or sanitation. Municipal
water supplies are intermittent, many toilets are broken and pit latrines collapsed.
In response, a programme was instigated – by the relevant Zimbabwean
ministries, UNICEF and two international NGOs – to encourage good hygiene
practice in schools, to decrease transmission of cholera and other diseases.
The aim is to increase knowledge of cholera among staff and children, to reduce
stigma and ensure a rapid response to suspected cholera cases at school.
In addition, it is hoped children will educate their communities, carrying vital
hygiene messages back home.

The project began with a training workshop for teachers, which received very
favourable feedback. Currently the project is awaiting permission for further roll-
out. Meanwhile, other related initiatives continue, including:

Production of a Disaster Management Guide, to supplement the School Health
Manual. This sets out practical steps to reduce risk and prepare
for emergencies;

Delivery of hygiene kits (buckets, mops, detergents, soap, and IEC materials
such as posters) to schools. Schools had reported an inability to buy even the
most basic cleaning materials due to the current economic situation
in Zimbabwe.

The initial teacher workshops demonstrated the value of focusing on children as
the primary audience, with participants asking “How would I relate this to my
class?” Many different techniques were then explored, so teachers could choose
how to take the message back to their own schools.

The use of lecturers from local teacher training colleges was also beneﬁcial,
as this respected professional group can easily connect with both trainee and
practicing teachers. In addition, hygiene awareness materials are being retained
for future teacher training and some lecturers have spontaneously organised
events on cholera at their own colleges.

Adapted from: ‘Zimbabwe: Hygiene awareness and Cholera prevention training’
UNICEF 2009

CASE STUDY 03

A girl carries containers ﬁlled with

safe water after the worst cholera
outbreak in the country’s modern
history. Dec 08.

Schools can further help to reduce hunger and malnutrition in disaster prone areas
by educating children and their families on basic nutrition and by giving children
healthy and nutritious meals at school. Finally, where equipped to do so, schools
can help children cope with stress resulting from disaster-related trauma, which can
beneﬁt children’s mental and emotional health and well-being. Safe and prepared
schools, with a knowledgeable staff, are therefore fundamental to ensuring successful
child-focused DRR – though it is important to note that schools cannot work alone in
this area, and that non-formal education and community outreach need to be used to
ensure DRR reaches the 75 million children who receive little or no schooling.

UNESCO (2007) Strong Foundations: Early Childhood Care and Education, EFA Global Monitoring

Report. UNESCO, Paris.

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Towards a culture of prevention: DRR

begins at school

American Red Cross, working with ISDR and UNESCO, developed a
curriculum called “Masters of Disaster” (MOD) to help teachers integrate
DRR education into core subjects. The MOD programme aims to reach
children aged 5 to 14 and their families with disaster preparedness
information, and to promote behaviour change by providing them with the
knowledge, skills and tools to effectively prepare for disasters. The MOD
programme has reached over 5.2 million children in six years and has now
been formally incorporated into the national curriculum.

MOD has been successful because it is:

1. interactive: lessons have children engaged, learning by having fun, not out

of fear;

2. standardized: much attention was paid to quality control and alignment with

national education standards, to ensure consistency;

3. participatory: a broad spectrum of interest groups contributed to this initiative,

adding their expertise and experience (the US Dept of Health and Human
Services, US Geological Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, National Weather Service, Federal Emergency Management
Agency and others were active participants in programme design);

4. adaptable: certain aspects of the curriculum can be altered to make them

locally relevant (in Alaska, for example, more emphasis was placed on
earthquake preparedness);

5. translated: given US population diversity, MOD has been translated into

various languages;

6. easily accessible: MOD material can be easily downloaded from the Internet,

and CD-ROMS are readily available from the American Red Cross; and
low-cost (elements free on the internet): the revised curriculum CDROM can be
purchased from the American Red Cross for $25.

Adapted from: ‘Towards a Culture of Prevention: Disaster Risk Reduction Begins
at School’ UNISDR (2007). Further information at

http://www.redcross.org/

disaster/masters/

CASE STUDY 04

With immediate concerns around school security and continuity of education
addressed, teachers and education ofﬁcials can turn their attention to developing
strategies for longer-term learning about disasters. Strategies include the development
of a school curriculum that incorporates learning about how to be prepared and
how to cope if disaster strikes. In the case study below we see that, in the US, work
in this area has been incorporated into the mainstream curriculum and is easily
accessible, with some components available on the internet or CD ROM.

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Awaiting
image

Coping with ﬂoods – children and DRR

along the Zambezi River

Save the Children, with contributions from UNICEF and ECHO, worked with
children in ﬂood-affected communities (age range from 12 to 18, occasionally
younger children) in Mozambique.

The project promoted the proactive role of children in their communities in
relation to; ﬂood response and disaster mitigation; disseminators of information
and good practice; and gave them the skills to prepare for future disasters..

A school magazine, community brochures, radio programmes, theatre
workshops and a ‘River Game’ provided information to children and adults
on what they should do in the face of ﬂoods, drought, cyclones, and forest
ﬁres. The impact has been substantial, not just in terms of children and schools
developing emergency response plans and changing behaviour, but in changing
attitudes within communities towards the positive role that children can play.

CASE STUDY 05

In the Maldives, the DRR curriculum has been enhanced through the engagement of
schools in big awareness raising events, such as the International Day for Disaster
Risk Reduction (IDDR). 2009 saw the Maldives celebrate IDDR for the ﬁrst time,
but the day has already been integrated into the 2010 academic calendar to
complement other aspects of the national curriculum. Two pilot schools were very
directly engaged in IDDR 2009. Their debate teams visited islands affected by the
2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and then interviewed local residents, DRR experts and
government ofﬁcials. On return, the teams engaged in a televised debate. Several
other pilot schools held special assemblies on IDDR. Creative responses were also
encouraged. An art competition was organised, and some students created and
performed plays or songs. A documentary was made featuring the pilot school
debate teams and their visit to affected islands, and this was screened on
national television.

IDDR and other events provide a focal point for DRR efforts and can be an excellent
way to engage children in discussing the risks presented by disasters and how they
can be mitigated. Such events offer opportunities for children to showcase their
knowledge, including through creative responses. However, they cannot stand alone.
Rather they should complement ongoing efforts to integrate learning about DRR into
national and local curricula.

The case study below from Mozambique emphasises community-based learning.
Building the knowledge base among children is often linked with activities designed
to enhance community resilience and risk management capacity. Linking community
projects with skills development and awareness-raising is particularly important for
children and youth participants, in order to maximise empowerment and reduce
the potential for feelings of helplessness and vulnerability. A similar Red Cross
programme focused on climate change in Colombia found that community
activities to manage risks should be linked to local institutions in order to be effective
and sustainable.

See UNISDR materials on www.PreventionWeb.net for further information.

Further information: www.climatecentre.org/site/youth

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Coping with ﬂoods – children and DRR

along the Zambezi river (continued)

The Ministry of Education had allocated 20 per cent of the school curriculum
for ‘locally relevant subjects’ but this was under-utilised because teachers had
limited knowledge and support to develop this part of the lesson plan. By
providing training activities and materials for teachers with a strong recreation
component, the programme was consistent with national educational policy
and delivered critical skills, so take-up was high. The River Game was a huge
success with children because it taught key concepts around coping with
ﬂoods in a way that was interactive and recreational. The brochures were
printed in four local languages making them accessible. Field testing materials
in advance helped ensure acceptance by communities and children. The
use of local radio and theatre prompted community discussions on DRR, with
children and adults engaged in debate around causes and possible means
of prevention.

Local community leaders, teachers, and district education authorities have
also been involved. The programme initially covered two districts, but several
components have now been extended to ﬁve provinces. At national level
there has been extensive collaboration with the National Institute for Disaster
Management Mozambique, (INGC), the principal Government agency
responsible for disaster response.

Adapted from: Coping with ﬂoods: Children and Disaster Risk Reduction
along the Zambezi River, Save the Children (undated)

What do the ‘Knowledge’ case studies tell us?

It is clear from the case studies in this section that increasing children’s knowledge
and preparedness is an essential ﬁrst step in promoting child-led DRR. This can
be achieved through a range of means, including teacher training, curriculum
development, use of online media, radio, theatre and arts. It is also important to
ensure a secure and protective environment. This means ensuring that the spaces
in which children live, learn and play are safe. In many countries, such as Japan,
signiﬁcant steps have been taken to adapt local architecture to withstand the impacts
of disasters, such as earthquakes.

School building design is a particularly high priority. The tragic effects of the 2008
earthquake in Sichuan, China, in which many schools collapsed, demonstrated the
disastrous consequences of poor school design and construction.

It has traditionally

been common for schools to serve as community shelters during emergencies, which
makes it even more important they are constructed to withstand extreme weather
events that subject the building to sustained pressure. The case study from Kansas
cited above represents good practice. However the importance of delivering

‘School construction to be investigated’ China Daily, 16 May 2008 http://www.chinadaily.com.

cn/china/2008-05/16/content_6690570.htm; ‘After fatal lesson, China builds stronger school
in quake zone’ China View, 28 April 2009 http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/28/
content_11272165.htm

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Tilly Smith, British school girl on holiday
in Phuket, Thailand during tsunami –
warned others around her before the
tsunami hit.
From: Lessons save lives: the story of Tilly
Smith, September 2007, UNISDR

“ I remembered it because

I’d been taught it in a
geography lesson, and
it was the exact same
froth, like you get on
a beer. It was sort of
sizzling... I’m quite proud
of myself that I knew
what was happening.”

continuity of education during and after disasters, as highlighted in the Bolivia case
study, cannot be over-emphasised. Ideally, schools should not be used as evacuation
centres and if they must be, every effort should be made to resume education as
quickly as possible, perhaps in temporary classrooms if necessary.

As several of the case studies illustrate, schools can assist greatly in enhancing
children’s knowledge and skills in relation to disaster risk reduction, by ensuring
children know what to do when disaster strikes.

In some contexts, educational efforts may need to focus on speciﬁc threats to
children’s health and wellbeing. These may relate less to the direct hazards
presented by extreme weather events and more to the longer-term consequences.
For example, in the aftermath of heavy rains and ﬂoods, waterborne diseases
can become a signiﬁcant threat. Stagnant pools of water may also provide
breeding grounds for mosquitoes. If communities are able to improve their local
environmental health by clearing stagnant water and debris, and if good hygiene
and sanitation are practiced, such risks are greatly reduced. The Zimbabwe case
study demonstrates the role school hygiene initiatives can play, alongside community-
based efforts.

Moving beyond the school environment, then, the case studies also indicate ways in
which children and adults can engage together in learning about and discussing
disaster-related risks. Community-based learning, through theatre, song, games and
other community events (such as meetings or debates) can be an extremely effective
way of enhancing awareness and mobilising communities to work together on DRR
projects. Alternatively, broadcast media and the internet can reach large numbers of
people across different communities with DRR messaging, as seen in the Maldives
on IDDR, and in the US ‘Masters of Disaster’ and Mozambique case studies. DRR
practitioners will be likely to have greatest impact by choosing a range of context-
appropriate strategies for awareness-raising and skills development. But in all
contexts, it seems likely that schools will continue to play a vital role in enhancing
the knowledge of children, their families and broader communities.

A Grade 10 class at Elementary

School 1 Padang attend classes
in tents in the coastal city of
Padang, West Sumatra.

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Children as recognized stakeholders in community DRR, and as teachers
and activists

DRR that helps to enhance attention to children’s needs and rights – and to reduce
their longer-term vulnerability to climate change and disasters.

This aspect of child-focused DRR seeks to move beyond simply transferring
knowledge. Promoting children’s ‘voice’ is about improving the visibility of children’s
needs, increasing their analytical abilities, and stimulating recognition of their
potential as agents of change. So, for example, in this section we will present case
studies in which adult disaster committees prioritised children’s needs, or included
child representatives, having recognised the value children could add (often through
work children had already done in their communities). As children become more
visible and respected in their communities, this can help reduce their longer-term
vulnerability to climate change and disasters and indeed in other respects.

In the case study from the Solomon Islands on the following page, we see how
young people have been trained to become peer educators. Engagement with
children and young people via a climate change forum enabled outreach and
skills transfer.

Promoting

voice

Tsunami: Before and After, Plan (India),
October 2009

“ The Tsunami has made

everyone equal. There
are no rich and no
poor. It has also brought
children to the center
of their community’s
development. Today
we also feel, just like
adults, we have a voice
and that our views
are respected.”

Children in Nepal take time to

voice their message

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Youth action on climate change in the

Solomon Islands

In the Solomon Islands, the Red Cross has used a variety of activities to
engage young people in raising voice and communicating risks around
disasters and climate change. In the nation’s capital of Honiara, young
people have been trained to become peer educators in schools and
communities on issues related to climate change.

At the same time, the Red Cross has worked with the national disaster
management ofﬁce to design an FM radio quiz for schools, for the International
Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDR), on how to reduce disaster risk and
impact. Integrating messages about climate change, it was broadcast in the
afternoon, when students are home, in the capital Honiara as well as
further aﬁeld.

The Solomon Islands Youth and Climate Change Forum in November 2008
involved over 70 youth participants. During ﬁeld trips to Solomon Islands
communities, participants interviewed local inhabitants to ﬁnd out more about the
changes in weather that they are noticing and the resulting challenges they face.
It also provided the opportunity to put into practice the risk reduction skills they
had been taught during the forum, such as the creation of seasonal calendars to
track changes in seasons and weather patterns.

The programme highlighted:

Children and youth as peer educators and communicators of risks and climate
change responses.

Using the asset of the enthusiasm and energy of young people, forming a
young team to undertake programme activities and double as a youth group.

Expanding the reach of climate change and DRR programmes through youth
engagement, as young people are already active in the workplace, families,
sport, churches and their schools.

Further information:

http://www.climatecentre.org/site/youth

CASE STUDY 06

Whilst children’s voice can be enhanced through the process of learning and sharing
at community level, if participatory media are used the impact can spread further
and last longer. For those children fortunate enough to have access to the internet, or
to photographic or ﬁlm-making equipment, this can enhance their voice signiﬁcantly,
both locally and nationally – and even internationally through the internet or
broadcast media.

The example from the UK opposite shows how an internet-based project, which
started in an academic institution, has now spread to China, Russia and other
countries. It allows children anywhere in the world able to view each other’s work
on DRR online in a range of languages. The same project also provides resources
aimed at teachers, including a DRR social networking site.

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Using New Media for Disaster Education

for and by Youth: The edu4hazards.org

website project

The Disaster and Development Centre, University of Northumbria, UK developed
the website www.edu4hazards.org. This uses interactive navigation in the form
of labels on a suitcase that direct the visitor to different types of hazards children
may experience. Children anywhere in the world can explore the site to discover
how to protect themselves. The web-build was done working with a primary
school in East London with 9 year olds and a secondary school in northeast
London with 14 year olds. The UNISDR secretariat added a link to the site,
which was followed by links to government-based educational websites in
the USA and Australia.

Videos on the web site – and on the associated YouTube channel – show
what to do in an emergency, in a variety of languages. Children have
submitted videos in French, English Turkish, Urdu, Russian, Punjabi and Mandarin
Chinese, as well as photos of their emergency ‘Go Bags’. Children can also
access podcasts.

The use of the internet and other modern media can engage children globally
in DRR, providing they have internet access, with only a small initial investment
in the design. The interactive website, together with the opportunity to make
your own Go Bag and/or ﬁlm, appeals to different learning styles and engages
children actively in leading their own DRR. Videos in different languages have
enabled children to learn from each other.

Adapted from `Towards a Culture of Prevention: Disaster Risk Reduction Begins
at School: Good Practices and Lessons Learnt’ UNISDR (2007)

CASE STUDY 07

Giving children voice on international platforms can be a valuable exercise both
for the children involved – who get the opportunity to put their message directly
to policy makers – and for the adults hearing from children. It is vitally important,
however, that such events are genuine opportunities for inﬂuence or exchange
of views. There is a need to avoid the risk of tokenism or even of children being
exploited by those seeking event publicity, where the impact of children telling their
stories directly will be subject to diminishing returns. For events to go beyond simple
reportage by children they need a shift of emphasis that focuses more on children’s
recommendations for action and policy change. The case study on the following
page documents recent attempts to give children voice in an international policy
arena. It highlights the need to facilitate ongoing dialogue between adults and
children – i.e. any speciﬁc event focused on children’s ‘voice’ is the beginning
of a longer-term process, not an end in itself.

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=260353245

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Experiences of Children’s Participation in

International Climate and Disasters Policy

Plan International supported the participation of child advocates from
developing countries at international policy events on DRR and climate
change: the 2009 Global Platform meeting on Disaster Risk Reduction in
Geneva, and the 2007 13th Conference of the Parties (COP13) meeting in
Bali. This experience yielded several lessons:

Direct input in adult discussion arenas is an important way to secure and
generate much needed dialogue between children and adults at the global
level. Ultimately, children’s views must be heard in the adult decision-making
arena if they are to be integrated into policy. For this to work, children need both
the support of receptive adult facilitators and child-friendly adult institutions.

Participation must be balanced with protection. Successful participation was
based on the personal convictions, experiences and capacities of children.
Yet they remained vulnerable to the overwhelming nature of the events and
diminished self-conﬁdence. Facilitators had to ensure that the children had access
to relevant information, ongoing support, and the opportunity to give feedback
on their experiences.

Ensuring transparency in children’s interaction, and following international
standards on children’s rights to protection and participation, helps preclude
accusations of ‘tokenism’ and ‘manipulation’ of children in policy-making.

Creating dialogues: International institutions, governments and civil society must
establish and support lasting, child-friendly dialogues on disasters and climate
change between children’s groups and adult actors. To engage effectively,
children must have access to relevant information in forms they can easily
understand and absorb.

Adapted from: Walden, D. Hall, N. Hawrylyshwyn, K. (2009) ‘Participation
and Protection: Children’s Involvement in Climate Change Debates. IDS In Focus
Policy brieﬁng 13.4, Brighton: IDS

www.ids.ac.uk/go/infocus13

CASE STUDY 08

16 year old Rhee from the

Philippines encourages UNISDR
decision makers to agree that
“Children...as strong agents for
change...should be involved in the
decision-making process”

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

What do the ‘Voice’ case studies tell us?

Giving children greater voice has a number of practical and policy advantages, as
well as promoting children’s empowerment and ownership of DRR responses. It builds
directly on Article 12 and 13 of the CRC. Article 12 of the Convention of the Rights
of the Child sets out some fundamental principles for the expression of children’s
voices; however there may be a need to develop a clearer understanding of the
purpose of giving children voice in national or international arenas.

At a practical level, including children on committees and other institutional structures
can add a new and valuable dimension to the work of those institutions. Using peer
educators or having children undertake interviews of adults for risk assessments,
for example, can reduce the adult workload and allow for the communication of
messages in new and sometimes more powerful ways, as the Solomon Islands case
study shows.

If children feel their voices are being heard, this increases the likelihood they will
maintain their own DRR learning and actions and pass this to other generations.
This becomes a win-win scenario, rather than a standalone event that must be
repeated year after year for continued impact.

The use of modern media to communicate adds enormous power to the voice of
children and – as the case of ‘edu4hazards’ shows – has inspired children around
the world to undertake and share their own DRR efforts, leading to a virtuous circle
of voice supporting voice.

There is signiﬁcant potential to enhance the role of children’s voice in international
fora, and also in national or regional fora though this is a less developed strategy
currently. There seems to be a gap between children’s voice at local or at best sub-

Article 12

Respect of the child’s views. The child has the right to express his or her opinion
freely and to have that opinion taken into account in any matter or procedure
affecting the child.

Article 13

Freedom of expression. The child has the right to express his or her views, obtain
information and make ideas or information known, regardless of frontiers.

It is relevant here to note that in July 2009, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child issued their
General Comment No.12 - to promote the ‘effective implementation of article 12’. The comment sets
out the basic requirements for the practical implementation of children’s right to be heard and explains
the value and impact of this in different situations and settings. It provides strong justiﬁcation - and
useful guidance - for bringing children into climate change decision-making at the global level. A
selection of its contents illustrates this:

under discussion affects the child. “This basic condition has to be respected and understood broadly.”
The impact of climate change on children is now more than ever one such key matter; and one that
children themselves are saying matters a great deal to them. General Comment No. 12 (2009) “The
right of the child to be heard” was presented by the Committee on the Rights of the Child at its Fifty-
ﬁrst session held in Geneva, on 25 May-12 June 2009.

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

regional level and then a leap to international level, with only a few countries giving
audience to children’s voices at national level.

Looking ahead, there is a need to develop more clearly an understanding of the
purpose of giving children voice in national or international arenas. Article 12 of the
Convention of the Rights of the Child sets out some fundamental principles for the
expression of children’s voices.

There are good examples of this right being realised through the efforts of a
number of agencies. The message that children can have an impact in DRR has
been heeded in international fora at least, and it is clear that the process of direct
engagement at this level can be a powerful one for the child involved. This form of
engagement needs to be balanced with environmental costs, and the use of video
conferencing facilities and other media could be encouraged for both adults and
children. It can also be a risky process, if expectations about inﬂuence and impact
are not managed appropriately. It may be useful for practitioners to evaluate this kind
of work in greater detail over the coming months.

The message that children can deliver above and beyond giving them voice –
speciﬁcally on the need to take action, including changes at policy level – could be
a very powerful one. However, children must be supported to appropriately develop
this message and approach. It is interesting to note that full version of CRC Article
12 speciﬁcally refers to the right to be heard at judicial or administrative proceedings
affecting the child i.e. from a legal or bureaucratic perspective, above and beyond
a simple expression of views. We will explore the desirability of shifting the focus of
effort towards action in the next section.

UNICEF UK, Plan UK and many other agencies facilitated a meeting between UK schoolchildren

and the UK Minister for Energy and Climate change so that he can hear their views. Meanwhile,
in Canada, children sent postcards about their solutions to climate change, to the Prime Minister,
facilitated by WWF. See:http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Wwf-Canada-1074342.html

Plan believes that institutionalising children’s involvement in climate change decision-making at a

global level will lead the way for ﬁrmly establishing children’s right to be heard more generally - in
all areas affecting them. Ideally the progressive increase of children’s participation at the global level
will take place systematically, through formal consultations and the establishment of ofﬁcial provisions,
formal mechanisms and processes for their participation. It is important to transfer children’s unique
perspectives and capacities to the global level where key agendas, targets, and standards are set
which have a direct impact on their lives and their futures.

Children in Indonesia present their

advocacy video to local ofﬁcials

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Taking action: Protect, Inﬂuence, Transform

Children as agents of change

DRR that helps children instigate or lead efforts to protect their communities and
inspire or deliver change in the broader policy environment – enhancing their
responsibilities and rights related to climate change and disasters.

Increasingly, work with communities on DRR is helping to empower children so
they can guide efforts that are likely to impact directly upon them, and they may
undertake their own discrete initiatives. Underpinned by the principles of child
participation enshrined in Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
this can be termed ‘child-led’ DRR.

However, the level of child agency varies. We have characterized the case studies
in this section into actions that seek to protect, inﬂuence or transform:

Children protecting themselves and their communities, for example through child-
led disaster drills at schools or small environmental and risk reduction projects;

Children inﬂuencing the actions of others, for example through advocating for and
leading behavioural change;

Children transforming their environment, by informing or changing wider agendas,
and addressing the root causes of vulnerability and risk management through
institutions, policies and processes beyond their community boundaries.

ACTION: Protect

The use of children to take action and protect themselves and their wider
communities can be highly effective. The example below shows how
preparedness on the part of the Scouts in Ghardaia, Algeria, was beneﬁcial
to the wider community.

Lisa, 9, repairs her father’s ﬁshing

net after Cyclone Sidr
in Bangladesh

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Awaiting
image

Algerian Scouts mount disaster response

In October 2008, the department of Ghardaia, 600 km south of Algiers, was
hit by heavy rains and dangerous ﬂoods. Mudslides invaded local villages as
rivers burst. More than 90 people were killed and many others injured. Over
600 houses were destroyed.

Soon after the catastrophe, the Algerian government alerted emergency services
and called upon all sectors to intervene immediately. In response, the General
Commissioner of the Scouts Musulmans Algériens (SMA) established an emergency
network, calling upon all departments of SMA at national level to engage in the
rescue and clean up efforts.

Fortunately, the Scouts had developed a disaster preparedness plan and were well-
equipped to respond. About 1,000 Scouts and volunteers left their families, schools,
universities and workplaces to contribute to community efforts. First, they helped set
up an operational headquarters outside Ghardaia to co-ordinate with governmental
and non-governmental partners and to monitor the crisis. Six other centres were also
set up to support the affected community.

The Scouts worked with others to: distribute supplies (foods and hygiene kits);
remove debris and pump water from ﬂooded houses; clear the streets of mud and
rubbish; and support affected people emotionally. In the aftermath, the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies reported that 731 rescue
operations had been mounted, which resulted in the rescue of 1,203 people.

The Scouts made an important contribution to the rescue and rehabilitation efforts in
Ghardaia. Indeed, across the world, children and young people within the scouting
and guiding movements train in disaster preparedness. This helps children keep
themselves and their friends and families safe. It also ensures that when disaster
strikes, as in Ghardaia, any older children can be swiftly and effectively mobilized
to support their community.

Adapted from: ‘Algerian Scouts excel at disaster preparedness’

www.scout.org

CASE STUDY 09

In the example above from Algeria, boy scouts – who had acquired many skills
relevant to emergency response – played a vital role in helping a ﬂood-hit community.
The guiding and scouting movements now offer disaster preparedness training and
accreditation in many countries, and some troops maintain long-term environmental and
community initiatives, as girl guides do in Sri Lanka

for example. Indeed, children’s

clubs of any type (run by children themselves or by adults for them) can provide space
for learning, discussion of risks to the community and training to ensure preparedness.
An example can be found in the kids’ clubs formed in Tamil Nadu, India, following
the 2004 Tsunami, which provided a space for children to consider the impacts of the
tsunami and how they could reduce the risks to their community in future.

Further, as the case study of the Algerian scouts shows, community organisations and
clubs also help to formalise local networks, enabling children to be better monitored
and protected in a disaster, and also making it easier to mobilise children and their
families to respond to disasters (taking quick action to protect themselves and others,
assisting with rescue and recovery efforts, etc).

Sri Lanka Girl Guides go Eco-Friendly’ The Sunday Times, 3 May 2009 http://sundaytimes.
lk/090503/FunDay/fundaytimes_2.html

Two Years Later – Rebuilding Lives after the Tsunami: The Children’s Road to Recovery’ Save the Children,

2006 http://www.savethechildren.org/publications/emergencies/savechild_tsunami_report.pdf

A child taking part in Save the
Children’s Child-led Disaster Risk
Reduction program in Thailand.

“Adults may want to do
it themselves. They may
think we don’t have the
capacity – that we can’t
do it. But actually, if given
a chance and some
guiding directions we
children can do anything.”

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Awaiting
image

Kyrgyz ‘school disaster teams’ lead

preparedness efforts

Over the course of 2006, Christian Aid and Shoola (a Kyrgyz NGO)
worked together to enhance disaster mitigation and preparedness among
villagers in the Eastern part of the Kyrgyz Republic.

‘Rural disaster teams’ and ‘school disaster teams’ were formed in ﬁve villages to
support the development of community awareness and preparedness measures.
The teams received training on disaster risk reduction and management. They
were also equipped with appropriate tools including spades and shovels, ﬁrst
aid kits and stretchers, ﬂashlights and tents.

Each ‘school disaster team’ comprised 23-25 school children, whereas ‘rural
disaster teams’ each had 20 adult members. The teams drew disaster risk maps
of the villages, planned escape routes and prepared contingency plans. They
also facilitated structural mitigation work including strengthening riverbanks,
reconstructing reservoirs and building dykes.

To ensure sustainability and continuity, each school disaster team formed one
‘duplicate’ disaster team consisting of younger children who had not been
involved in the initial activities. The school disaster teams also conducted training
on disaster risk reduction in the schools of neighbouring villages. Competitions
and summer camps were organised, where young people could demonstrate
their skills and knowledge. Village events and construction activities were
broadcast by the local TV channel to reach the entire Issyk-Kul Province.

The project resulted in raised awareness, structural mitigation and enhanced
disaster preparedness. Children led parts of the initiative and learnt about the
importance of communities working together to mitigate disasters. Community
participation was sustained – even in a society where this is not the norm –
though the facilitation efforts of Shoola, the local NGO. A follow-up phase of
the project seeks to improve community linkages with local government.

Adapted from: ‘Rural, School “Disaster Teams” to Boost Preparedness: Mobilising
Rural Communities for Disaster Preparedness in the Kyrgyz Republic’ in Building
Disaster Resilient Communities, ISDR 2007

CASE STUDY 10

Including children as part of a wider community structure can be an effective
response, as the case studies from the Kyrgyz Republic and El Salvador below
demonstrate. In Kyrgyz the formation of village disaster teams alongside school
disaster teams, backed up by teams of younger children supported and reinforced
each other, providing continuity and enhancing sustainability. In El Salvador, children
were proactive protectors and initiators, working within their wider community to take
pre-emptive action.

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Children’s role in monitoring, preparedness

and ﬂood response in El Salvador

In July 2008, the communities of Melara, Palmera and Cerco de Piedra woke
up in the middle of the night, to ﬁnd the Huiza River bursting its banks, the bridge
destroyed, and their houses and belongings quickly being covered by water
and mud. Twelve people died. In November 2009, a similar emergency saw
a drastically improved capacity to respond quickly and efﬁciently following
training on DRR, as part of a project carried out by Plan El Salvador and
ﬁnanced by DFID and ECHO.

What had changed?

Children and youth from local communities had become leaders within Civil
Protection Committees, creating brigades to respond to different aspects of
emergencies, including Monitoring and Early Warning, First Aid, Evacuation,
and Shelter Management.

As a result, the ﬂood situation was actively monitored and upon danger levels,
the Committee members donned ID vests and alerted community members
to evacuate before arrival of the ﬂood, during the night, with the aid of a
megaphone equipped with an alarm.

Children and senior citizens were evacuated to a church on higher terrain
that had been previously identiﬁed as a safe shelter. Once in the shelters, the
Committee (adults and children alike) attended immediate needs: food, hot
beverages, blankets, mattresses and, specially, comfort to those who needed
it the most, mainly children.

In the aftermath, volunteers and members of the Community took account
of the damage to the communities, started distributing any aid that was
delivered, and began rescuing articles of clothing, food, and whatever was
worth salvaging.

Children and youth were instrumental in ensuring that a repeat disaster was
avoided. Involvement of children and youth in this disaster preparedness process
involved both attention to speciﬁc vulnerabilities of children during and after
disaster events, but also their capacity as actors in preparedness, response, relief
and rehabilitation. This action was part of a community-wide initiative rather than
a stand-alone child-centred effort.

Adapted from: ‘Children on the Frontline: Children and young people in Disaster
Risk Reduction’ Plan International with World Vision International, (2009)

http://

www.plan-uk.org/pdfs/childernonthefrontline.pdf

CASE STUDY 11

Several of the case studies above conﬁrm that engaging local government is key
to the sustainability and impact of DRR and may even result in local ﬁnancing for
community initiatives. However, community based organizations and other NGOs
are often the primary route for engagement of children and their families in DRR.
These organizations can often work directly with a speciﬁc community to build
participation and ownership and focus on their needs. Once children and families
are engaged and empowered in this way, they can more easily and effectively
reach out to local authorities and are better placed to inﬂuence policy responses and
secure long-term ﬁnancing.

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Child Voices: Children of Nepal inﬂuence the

building of a bridge & the NAPA

Institute of Development Studies researchers with the Children in a Changing
Climate’s research programme worked with ActionAid Nepal, and its
partner organisations, to help poor children to make short ﬁlms about how
climate change is being experienced by their communities.

Making these ﬁlms allowed the children to explore how the changing climate is
impacting them and their families, how they are coping and what they need in
order to adapt to a changing climate.

They used the videos to highlight their concerns and to advocate for action.
They presented their issues through screenings to government ofﬁcials, who
in turn agreed to help them in building a bridge to improve the year-round
access to their school. Outside the community, the video was screened to
those in government to advocate for child-sensitive approaches to analysis
and implementation of adaptation plans. This targeted those responsible for
preparing the Nepal National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPA), which
highlights the country’s urgent and immediate climate change adaptation needs.

From; Gautam, D. and Oswald, K. (2008) ‘Child Voices: Children Speak Out
on Climate change Adaptation’ Children in a Changing Climate Research
Report, IDS: Brighton

www.childreninachangingclimate.org/docs/Child%20

Voices_np.pdf

Video at:

http://blip.tv/ﬁle/1492697/

CASE STUDY 12

A young Nepalese boy records

his story for the participatory
video

ACTION: Inﬂuence

Earlier we reviewed the use of videos and other media to promote children’s voice.
The example from Nepal below goes one step further. Here, children were involved
directly in the production of short ﬁlms to advocate for speciﬁc actions, which in turn
inﬂuenced government ofﬁcials to change their behaviour and build a bridge for the
children to ensure year round access to their school. At a national level, it also fed
into the preparation of the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA).

In the Philippines, children have managed to inﬂuence not just access to school, but
the physical location of school buildings. In the following case studies from Southern
Leyte, students gradually persuaded adults in the community to relocate their
school to a safer area. This has similarities to the Northern Bangladesh example,
where adults also initially resisted the actions advocated by children, but later
acknowledged the validity of the children’s proposals.

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Student-led school relocation

In Santa Paz Sur and Santa Paz Norte, in the Southern Leyte region of
the Philippines, schoolchildren who had learnt about disasters through
risk mapping and vulnerability assessment at school discovered from
local scientists that their school was in a high risk landslide zone. They
campaigned within the school and wrote letters, enlisted the support of
the former state governor as well as the headmaster. This resulted in a
community-wide referendum on school relocation that included the children.

A temporary tent school was erected over one weekend, with children and
parents helping to put up the tents and children digging drainage channels
(due to the temporary school’s location close to a paddy ﬁeld). The tents, water
supply and toilets were provided by Plan Philippines, along with a scholarship
programme helping poorer students purchase uniforms and school supplies. A
new permanent school was then opened in a safer location, which includes
earthquake mitigation measures such as steel ties on the roof.

This case study highlights the power of children as drivers of change and
demonstrates the power of children’s voices on disaster risk within a community.
It also shows the importance of working with local networks and leaders,
developing champions who can push agendas at different scales.

Adapted from: Mitchell, T., Tanner, T.M. and Haynes, K., (2009) Children as
agents of change for Disaster Risk Reduction: Lessons from El Salvador and the
Philippines. Children in a Changing Climate Working Paper 1, IDS, Brighton

CASE STUDY 13

Children in Santa Paz, Philippines

attend classes in their temporary
tent whilst work begins on their
new school

Children engaged directly in DRR are not just able to inﬂuence adults to change their
views, but may negotiate inclusion in local and national decision making processes.
The example from Bangladesh below shows how action taken by children at
community level led to them to being included in decision making at regional level,
which is in turn inﬂuencing decision making at the national level. The children also
encouraged adults to move away from a fatalistic ‘nothing can be done’ point of view
to a ‘yes we can’ outlook. If this can be carried over from one generation to the next
then this kind of work will begin to yield a virtuous circle of intergenerational beneﬁts.

“With that campaign letter, it really empowered us children, students, because
we were given the chance to speak out – and I realized that even if we were
just students, our voice can also be heard by bigger or older persons.”

Child Quote from: Children on the Frontline: Philippines. Plan International,
Thomson Foundation and OnePlanet Pictures (March 2008)

Child in Indonesia,
Child-Led Disaster Risk Reduction: a
Practical Guide, Save the Children

“ We can teach the

community and
government about the
issues that children
face during disasters
– we must share our
experiences with them.”

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Children inﬂuencing their community to

reduce disaster related risks: Moyna and

Papri Children’s Organization, Northern

Bangladesh

Plan International, with assistance from ECHO, working with POPI, the local
implementing partner set up a children’s organisation of some 30 children who
then mapped the hazards (drought, tornado, hailstorms) and risks that follow (e.g.
diseases, house destruction) in their community. The children drew a map of what
a safe community would look like, undertook a transect walk, prepared a risk and
resource map, drew up a timeline and seasonal calendar. They interviewed the
adults in the local community in order to do this. They then prepared a disaster
matrix ranking diagram and prioritised the responses to the most likely disaster.
They then undertook their own DRR plan.

Where resources were inadequate to implement a full plan the children voted for
a micro project. Twenty-three interventions were realised based on the children’s
analysis including tree planting, boat building, bridge construction, ground raising
for infrastructure.

The project found a range of beneﬁts from child led DRR including:

Children can help to challenge the social status quo and fatalistic doctrine
present amongst adults.

Forming children’s organizations and allowing them to take a leading role
ensures creativity, ownership and enthusiasm not seen in adults.

Children were appreciated by the wider community and their recommendations
helped communities to become involved in DRR and support children’s
participation in DRR.

The adults’ prior perception of children as vulnerable beneﬁciaries is slowly

changing – with a greater appreciation at local and national levels of the value
of including children in DRR decision-making. Four local disaster management
committees have now voted to include children on their committees,
recognizing their value added.

Adapted from: My Story: How children are leading their community to reduce
disaster related risks: The story of Moyna and Papri Children’s Organization ,
Plan Bangladesh 2008

CASE STUDY 14

Children helping with the

construction of boats to ensure
safer access to school during the
monsoon season in Bangladesh

At a similarly inﬂuential level – in the example from the Philippines on the following
page – the use of video as an advocacy tool has targeted the behaviour of small-
scale artisanal miners and decisions by the local and municipal government. This
led to the banning of chromite mining near selected villages. It also highlighted
the interrelationships between the immediate commercial drivers in the locality and
longer term climate change impacts. There are few examples of child-led or child-
focused DRR having an impact on commercial decisions, or where as a result of
children’s actions, the links between corporate behaviour and disasters are explicitly
understood, articulated and lead to a change in behaviour. This is getting closer to
the sorts of transformational impacts we will discuss in the next section.

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Video-making process enables children to

advocate on mining issues

In the village of Caga-ut, in Eastern Samar, Philippines, children’s groups
have used participatory video as an advocacy tool. Local children formed
the Young Hearts media correspondents and made videos about the mining,
they were supported by Plan Philippines, the Forces of Nature Foundation,
researchers from the University of the Visayas Macquarie University, and
IDS, and national video facilitators. The experience has shown that the
process of researching, creating and presenting the video has been as
important as the ﬁnished product.

Limited access to economic opportunities in the community has led to
the widespread practice of small-scale chromite mining, reinforced by
Provincial Government legislation permitting mining across 24 per cent of the
Municipality and the presence of international mining companies supplying
the global market. The children pinpointed chromite mining as their major
concern. Their research revealed how small-scale mining excavations were
polluting the local river, affecting bathing and washing of clothes, contaminating
local drinking water, causing skin diseases and a decline of downstream ﬁsh
catch. Land degradation due to tree felling and excavation of mining sites has
increased ﬂood risk, and children are increasingly employed in mining activities
rather than attending school.

The children used the video project to present their ﬁndings to local ofﬁcials,
ﬁlming the process of debate within the village council around the pros and cons
of mining. On top of an ongoing campaign against the mining led by children’s
groups, this has led to a local resolution to stop mining near to the village, a
commitment to ﬁll in mining pits, and the videos were used to lobby Municipal
and Provincial ofﬁcials at screenings.

Watch the video at:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhYzkAfIMCs

CASE STUDY 15

Campaigning and video making

support child led DRR advocacy
in the Philippines

As the children narrate in the video:

“To address the problem of impending disaster, the council banned chromite
mining near the Barangay [village], especially near the river. That’s why the river
is clear now. They also have an agreement with the owners of mining sites, that
after operations in a site, they will plant trees and top up mining pits.”

“We started a campaign to inform the children about the danger of continuous
rainfall due to climate change and the continuing mining operation... We formed
groups to help our parents in ﬁlling mining pits. We also started our own tree-
planting program. But these are temporary solutions… For the sake of our future,
we want chromite mining to be stopped.”

From: The Pock-Marked Face of Caga-Ut, Eastern Samar, The Philippines. Plan
International (2009)

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

ACTION: Transform

We are using this term in the sense of transformation in the broader context, e.g.
at national or global levels, through lobbying for local/national policy change, or
for example through UNFCCC and Global Platform advocacy. In the context of
DRR, transformative actions will tend to focus more on the drivers of vulnerability to
disasters – such as local environmental degradation or the impacts of climate change
– than on the direct consequences of disasters.

In our assessment of the available DRR case studies, few demonstrated actions that
had been genuinely transformative, although several – such as the case studies from
the Philippines cited opposite – are moving in this direction. This is an important
ﬁnding, though perhaps not altogether surprising. Although much has been achieved
in making DRR increasingly child-led, much more could to be done in order to
achieve transformative change that will beneﬁt children and their communities over
the long term. We will discuss this further below.

‘Transformative’ action by children – or by adults and children working together – is
a natural next step when children have already been engaged in community-based
projects and related advocacy efforts. It is a bottom-up effort to change policy and
practice. Children and young people can work very effectively with adults in this
area if supported to do so and in some cases it may be appropriate and feasible
for children to engage directly in policy change.

Conversely, the Jamaican example below shows how top-down policy development
on DRR can fail. This happens even where intentions are good, because there is no
local ownership of the policy or practice – by children, or by those representing or
serving them (parents, teachers, social workers, nurses, etc).

Ranju Dahal, age 15
Balaju, Kathmandu, Nepal.

“ We know where the

problems are and what
is needed to overcome
the problems. But we
have not pressured the
government to reduce
the risks from disasters.
I think we should work
in advance, before the
monsoon comes.”

Child-centred disaster risk reduction policy

and its implementation

Around half of Jamaica’s population is under the age of 18. As a result,
Jamaica’s disaster risk reduction programme, led by the Ofﬁce of Disaster
Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), seeks to address the
special needs of children in disaster situations.

The ODPEM has endeavoured to ensure Jamaican children are protected during
disasters. Their work involves ongoing public awareness campaigns and speciﬁc
efforts to integrate children’s needs and rights into the country’s Comprehensive
Disaster Management (CDM) framework, consistent with the Hyogo Framework
for Action.

CASE STUDY 16

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Child-centred disaster risk reduction policy

and its implementation (continued)

But the ODPEM has been reviewing its efforts and looking for ways to strengthen
them. For example, the agency developed Guidelines for Child-Friendly Disaster
Management and Response, which have served as an aide mémoire in times of
emergency. However, a review found that training programmes for planners and
implementers do not yet incorporate the Guidelines.

Another ODPEM-led programme focused on strengthening the capacity of
schools and their surrounding communities to respond to disasters. However, a
lack of resources and technical support to schools has hampered this initiative.
A review of participating schools found that none had designed an emergency
preparedness and response plan or taken steps to ensure good communication
with emergency services during a disaster. In addition, children were not as
well informed as they needed to be about how to prepare for or respond to an
emergency situation, and, although the speciﬁc needs of children with disabilities
were understood, few schools were equipped to address them during a disaster.

The ODPEM concluded that they needed to expand their initial projects, keeping
in mind that:

Using a standardized tool for developing school emergency preparedness
and response plans greatly increases the likelihood of comprehensive, high-
quality plans being produced.

Access to basic psychosocial support to children and caregivers following an
emergency can substantially aid recovery processes and reduce the impact of
post-traumatic stress.

Increased emphasis must be placed on children and their protection before,
during and after the onset of a disaster situation.

Another vital lesson is that prioritizing children’s needs during policy development
is not enough. Adequate resources must be dedicated to policy implementation,
at national and local levels. The Jamaican experience also demonstrates the
importance of reviewing policy implementation, in order to identify challenges
and then take appropriate steps to address them to ensure children’s needs are
being met.

Adapted from: ‘Disaster Risk Reduction and Vulnerable Populations in Jamaica:
Protecting Children Within the Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM)
Framework’ Michelle T. Edwards and Kerry-Ann N. Morris, 2008

The most beneﬁcial outcomes are likely when good intentions at the political or policy
level mesh with child-led DRR at the community level. We will discuss the challenges
to achieving this below.

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

What do the ‘Action’ case studies tell us?

Working up through the arc of Protect – Inﬂuence – Transform:

It is important to recognize children’s needs and to take account of these
during policy development. Child-friendly policies then need to translate into
practical guidelines to enable child-focused and child-led action to prevent and
manage disasters. But resourcing must be sufﬁcient to enable local authorities,
civil society organizations, schools and communities to make full use of
such guidelines – this means providing both ﬁnancial and technical support.
Otherwise any policy or guidance document is likely to sit on a shelf.

Additional mobilisation efforts at community level can help important actors stay
engaged and ensure local groups, including children’s groups, are adequately
supported. The Kyrgyz example demonstrates this – constant support was needed in
that context, to ensure that schools and community members stuck with the initiative
and saw the beneﬁts emerging from it.

This can generate a cycle of positive feedback where the local adults and wider
community see the beneﬁts of the children’s analysis and work on inﬂuence, so adopt
the behaviours themselves. This can then become institutionalised at the local level,
and with appropriate support can be adopted at regional or even national level.
The use of participatory and broadcast media can be particularly empowering, as it
does more than give voice – it can open the space for action.

Over time, as momentum behind an initiative gathers, local children and adults can
and often do take on greater leadership and responsibility for its continuation and
impact. At this stage, policy engagement becomes more feasible and sustainable.

Making the leap to transformative action is the next frontier. It will require a shift in
emphasis, recognising that much important work has been achieved in the transfer
and expansion of knowledge and enhancement of voice and that action must build
on this. Mainstreaming a transformative approach to child-focused and child-led
DRR remains a challenge, requiring ongoing effort and increased resources, but the
learning from past and ongoing initiatives will guide future endeavours

Children in the Camotes

islands, Philippines, highlight the
importance of mangroves for
secure livelihoods, as well as
reducing wind and wave damage
during typhoons

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Conclusions and messages for practitioners

Disasters are often the catalyst for change. When children see how their
community has been affected they want to engage in redeveloping and
preparing it to survive in future.

Children can and should be engaged in planning and decision-making
in all communities, whether or not they are disaster prone. However – to be truly
child-led, disaster risk reduction efforts must ﬁt with other aspects of children’s lives,
most obviously their education and any family responsibilities. Children should
engage in DRR with enthusiasm and on their own terms. They may need support
to secure the blessing of their parents, teachers and other community members.

Lessons from DRR case studies

The case studies in this report demonstrate a range of approaches that contribute to
successful child-focused and child-led DRR:

Creative and performing arts can be very valuable ways to engage children and
increase their understanding of disasters and of how to reduce related risks, and
provide an opportunity for children to share their knowledge with their families and
communities. Art competitions are relatively easy to organise as they do not require
specialist teaching or much equipment. The arts can also play a role in children’s
advocacy and even fundraising, both locally and internationally.

Photography and videography have been used by children and young people to
good effect to highlight the disaster-related risks that they face.

Internet resources and advocacy platforms are becoming increasingly important to
child-led learning and campaign outreach – although this risks excluding the most
marginalised without access to such resources and they should be used with care
to avoid the potential for child exploitation.

Schools are often the most critical setting for the transfer of knowledge about
disaster risk reduction. Curriculum development that incorporates DRR is therefore
key. Children’s clubs – or more formal structures such as the scouting and guiding
movements – can also offer space for discussion, learning and community-
level action.

Peer support can also be valuable. For example, local youth can educate or
mentor children as they engage in disaster risk reduction efforts, or can undertake
complementary work to campaign or engage in policy development.

Community-based organizations and traditional governance structures play an
important role in working with children within their own communities. CBOs and

Children can make a number of positive contributions to DRR including:

As analysers of risk and risk reduction activities;

As designers and implementers of DRR interventions at community level;

As communicators of risks and risk management options (especially
communications to parents, adults or those outside the community);

As mobilisers of resources and action for community based resilience;

As constructors of social networks and capital.

Tanner TM et al. (2009) Children’s participation in community-based disaster risk reduction and

adaptation to climate change. Participatory Learning and Action 60, 54-64 www.planotes.org

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Indonesian children raise

awareness of DRR

NGOs (local, national and international) are often the ﬁrst to step in to protect and
empower children, and they can sometimes (though not always) provide ongoing
support. Researchers and journalists can also help, but may need guidance to
work effectively with children. However, given their remit, which often includes
planning, housing, education, water and sanitation local government agencies are
also well-placed to establish mechanisms for engaging children.

Indeed, engagement with local and national government is critical to effect any
necessary policy change. Efforts by children and their families to protect their
communities against disasters can be easily undermined if causal factors are not
addressed (which may require new legislation or regulation, for example). National
Adaptation Plans of Action (NAPAs) offer an excellent entry point.

Trends in child-focused and child-led DRR

The case studies have provided us with signiﬁcant evidence of progress in child-
focused and child-led DRR, with the extent of child agency growing as they – and
adults working with them – gain experience. A clear continuum in child-focused and
child-led DRR is therefore emerging:

Knowledge: there are numerous examples of good practice in protecting children,
through child-focused disaster preparedness – adapting infrastructure (e.g. school
buildings) and enhancing children’s knowledge.

Voice: There is also some evidence that adults working in DRR are seeking
out children’s views and giving them voice either within their local or regional
communities or wider international platforms (interestingly, rarely at the national
level) – in some cases this has led to policy that is more child-centred, reﬂecting
children’s needs and concerns, and recognising child rights.

Action – Protect: DRR is most empowering – and likely to be more beneﬁcial for
children when they lead it. Many initiatives seeking to instigate child-led DRR have
focused on engaging children in efforts to protect their own homes or communities.
Children often engage in mapping and assessing their local community as a ﬁrst
step, or may discuss the impact of a recent disaster on them and how they think
that disaster might have been prevented. This diagnostic effort generally feeds into
child-led projects.

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

Action – Inﬂuence: There are also a few, tantalising examples of where children’s
DRR efforts have gone beyond protective measures, to include advocacy and
inﬂuence at a local level. Here, children have worked together to inﬂuence
community leaders to act in ways that not only protect children from disasters but
most importantly, can protect whole communities. Children are able to encourage
adults to do things the children cannot do alone.

Action – Transform: Child-centred DRR policy does not necessarily yield child-
centred practice, as the Jamaican case study shows. There is little evidence yet
of children having transformational impacts through their engagement in DRR
e.g. affecting the drivers of vulnerability locally (such as logging that contributes
to landslides and ﬂooding) or globally (such as climate change). This is the next
frontier in child-led DRR.

How change happens

However, children and young people may face signiﬁcant resistance to change.
The response that some children had from some adults in their communities – ‘it is
the hand of fate’ – has required implementation beyond transfer of knowledge. At
present the predominant DRR model is to support behaviour change through building
greater knowledge, supporting voice and acting to protect children. However, we
know through the work of psychologists such as Robert Cialdini that behaviour
change happens for a number of reasons including social proof (doing it because
you see others doing it) and reciprocity (doing to return a favour). Any challenge to
the status quo requires an understanding of this, in order to persuade all stakeholders
of the need for change.

There are signiﬁcant challenges to be overcome therefore, if children are to contribute
to genuine transformation. Children are vulnerable to exploitation and often ignored,
and in DRR they tend to work with adults and young people who are equally
disempowered – adults from their own communities who are poor or marginalized,
and (often small and under-resourced) civil society organizations. International
agencies, NGOs, research organizations and donors can all help – but need to
be aware that they are engaging with stakeholders who are starting from a point of
weakness and so their political traction is also likely to be limited.

There are also risks, which must be properly assessed and mitigated. There may
be powerful vested interests working to maintain the status quo, particularly where
there are signiﬁcant commercial interests at stake (e.g. mining or logging operations).
Child-led DRR strategies will be locally determined but, with the right type and level
of support, are likely to increase in intensity and impact over time as children take
greater control and seek to inﬂuence broader processes of decision-making and
policy development.

What next?

If we are to reduce the risks children and their communities face due to climate
change and disasters, those in positions of power and inﬂuence must be willing and
able to engage children in policy development and implementation. They must be
aware of children’s needs and rights, and listen to children’s concerns.

With this in mind, those engaged in supporting DRR have tended to focus on either
the community/NGO sector or the government – whether local, regional or national.
There has been little direct engagement with the private sector in this area. This may
be worth further investigation, though it presents considerable challenges and some
risks, as highlighted above.

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

The cost-beneﬁt analysis of DRR is perhaps not as well understood and recognised
as it could be, given the complexities involved in measurement. However, the
available data strongly supports DRR activity on a cost beneﬁt basis.

There has

been less speciﬁc analysis of the beneﬁts of child-led or child-focused DRR, where
greatest attention has gone to enhancing children’s Knowledge and Voice, in line
with explicit commitments in the CRC. Additional beneﬁts are likely to accrue to
child-led DRR, when intergenerational impacts are considered. The cost-beneﬁt
analysis of child-led DRR is another area worthy of further investigation, therefore, not
least as it could help build the case for investment in this kind of DRR intervention.
Importantly for DRR practitioners, this will require a shift in the way such interventions
are assessed. More evidence is needed on the outcomes of DRR projects – for
example, showing improvements in child survival, educational attainment, health
and wellbeing. At present, much of the evidence base focuses on process, such as
successful strategies for engaging children, expanding their knowledge, or giving
them voice.

“ If children are taught

disaster preparedness,
they will bring a
revolutionary change
in the society as they
are the future keepers
of the villages and
schools. Besides,
children of today will
become parents of
tomorrow, which will
ensure that they pass
this knowledge to
their children, making
disaster preparedness
a societal practice,
which will keep on
passing from generation
to generation.”

Stern, N. et al (2007) The Economics of Climate Chansge: The Stern Review, CUP, ch 20,

Adaptation in the developing world; and Provention Consortium: DRR & CBA see http://www.
proventionconsortium.org/?pageid=26

This report suggests that, if child-led DRR were to be scaled up, greater emphasis
should be given to supporting action that delivers real inﬂuence over policy and
practice, nationally and internationally. This shift from expanding knowledge, to
enhancing voice, and then to taking action (where action can be to protect, to
inﬂuence more broadly and ﬁnally to transform), is presented schematically below.

A child in Sri Lanka taking part in Save
the Children’s Child-led Disaster Risk
Reduction programme

Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking stock and moving forward

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in a Changing Climate Working Paper 1, Brighton: IDS
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Save the Children Sri Lanka (2006) Promoting Children Friendly and Child Centered
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Tanner, T.M., Garcia, M., Lazcano, J., Molina, F., Molina, G., Rodríguez, G.,
Tribunalo, B. and Seballos, F. (2009) ‘Children’s participation in community-based
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Wisner, B (2006) Let our children teach us! A Review of the Role of Education and
Knowledge in Disaster Risk Reduction UNISDR, Geneva

For CCC research reports and CCC partner reports see
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