The United Nations office for an International Strategy on Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), today marks International Disaster Reduction Day with a special call for children and young people to be empowered and engaged in disaster risk reduction as the group most affected by disasters each year.
UNISDR estimates that every year over 100 million young people including children, are affected by disasters. And in the past few years young people have been particularly impacted in record numbers because of the earthquakes, tsunami, tropical storms, fires, floods, tornadoes, and famine.
UNISDR Chief, Margareta Wahlström, said “This year we are issuing a call for everyone to ‘Step Up for Disaster Risk Reduction’ but especially children and young people who have such a special insight into how disasters disrupt their lives and the lives of their communities. We must get beyond perceptions of children as passive and subordinate to ensure they are active participants in decision-making and risk reduction activities.
“They can influence their communities to invest in safe schools and health facilities and take into account the special circumstances of children and other vulnerable groups when designing early warning systems and other projects which contribute to resilience in the face of disasters and climate change.”
At events around the world today and in the coming 12 months, UNISDR is working with its partners UNICEF, Plan, Save the Children and World Vision, to promote the new Children’s Charter for Disaster Risk Reduction which was developed through consultations with more than 600 children in 21 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
The children identified five priorities for resilience:
- Schools must be safe and education must not be interrupted.
- Child protection must be a priority before, during and after a disaster to avoid threats such as child labor and trafficking.
- Children have the right to participate and to access the information they need in order to protect their communities as well as themselves from disaster risks and climate change.
- Children are sensitive to the erosion of investments in development infrastructure, particularly schools and health facilities and want infrastructure to be safe and well-located with good road access.
- Children are also concerned that special attention be paid to people who are vulnerable because of a range of factors including disability, age, gender, location and social status.
To start involving your own children (or yourself) UNISDR even offers a Sims-like online computer game Stop Disasters! to test your own disaster preparation and response skills. It is a real eye-opener.
