Introduction
Around the world, natural disasters continue to threaten children’s lives and deprive them of access to education. Each year, around 200 million children in the Asia Pacific have had their lives severely disrupted by disasters. The Philippines is one of the highest-risk countries for natural disasters. Risks associated with climate change are diverse, consisting of rapid-onset events (intense storms, heat waves, and droughts) and gradual changes in conditions (sea-level rise and changing agricultural conditions). The country is incredibly vulnerable to the effects of climate change for two main reasons: geography and socio-economic vulnerability. Filipinos have suffered from an inexhaustible number of deadly typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other natural disasters. In the last ten years, the Philippines was hit by a series of powerful typhoons – Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013, Ferdie (Meranti) in 2016, and Rolly (Goni) in 2020. The Philippines has long been vulnerable to extreme weather and natural disasters. Its geographical location and physical environment significantly contribute to its high susceptibility to tsunami, sea-level rise, storm surges, landslides, flooding, and drought. Located along the typhoon belt in the Pacific, the Philippines is visited by an average of 20 typhoons every year, five of which are destructive. The intensity of storms has massively increased in recent years. Being situated in the “Pacific Ring of Fire” makes it vulnerable to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. As the Philippines is a collection of islands, there are a lot of people living on the coast exposed and at risk for tsunamis.
Socioeconomic vulnerability arising from high poverty rates also affects the country’s disaster risk response. It is the single most crucial factor in determining disaster vulnerability in the country, with the poor who suffer most from disasters. Apart from the loss of life, injury and damage, disasters hit the poor hard because of loss of livelihoods, displacement, poor health, and food insecurity.
One of the most vulnerable sectors to disaster is the education sector. Disasters threaten the lives of children, families, and education personnel. Disasters deprive children of their right to a continuous quality basic education in a safe environment. Disaster’s threat to education goes beyond disruption of classes and damage to education facilities – it poses a threat to disrupt education which is one of the vehicles for sustainable development.
This module was developed to provide a basic conceptual and practical understanding of comprehensive school safety.
It aims to support the capacity building of E-Net members in their advocacy and initiatives to enhance school safety and ensure the right to education amid the threats of hazards and disasters in a climate-changed world.
