7/30/2019 Joint Statement on Education in Emergencies After Typhoon Pablo by Plan International, Save the Children, World

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Joint Statement on Education in Emergencies After Typhoon Pablo

by Plan International, Save the Children, World Vision and UNICEF

January 7, 2013

The resumption of classes this January will not be the usual return from the holidays for children here,

when schools and Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) centers re-open after the Christmas

break. Thousands of children will continue to be displaced with up to 95% of school buildings, classrooms

and day care centers damaged or destroyed in the 4 most affected provinces following Typhoon Pablo in

Mindanao, Philippines. Consequently, these children have no school buildings, interrupting their

education.

More than 600 schools and 170 day care centers were destroyed or damaged. The right of evacuees to be

housed in safe accommodation is fully recognized. This has to be realized while simultaneously fulfilling

the right ofchildrens access education.

The Department of Education has declared that classes will resume on 3rd

January, for both elementary

and secondary schools. Children will be given informal sessions (psychosocial support involving games,

drawing, singing, dancing), until formal academic classes begin on the 14th

January. This will also give

people time to re-locate, for teachers to track children, and for schools and classrooms to be repaired and

cleaned up.

Plan International, Save the Children, World Vision and UNICEF, the four child-focused agencies, highlight

the critical importance of education and early childhood care in emergencies. The following joint

statement highlights this urgent issue in more detail.

Background

Of the total 6.2 million people affected by Typhoon Pablo, 2.3 million are estimated to be children under

18 years old. For the 700,000 people most affected in the 3 provinces most seriously damaged by

Typhoon Pablo (Davao Oriental, Compostela Valley and Agusan del Sur), an estimated 294,000 are

children. In any emergency, children are one of the most vulnerable groups. They are highly vulnerable to

dropping out of school or discontinuing attendance of day care sessions.

As the effects of the typhoon continue to become more apparent, threats to education of the affected

populations are high. Childrens right to education should not be given any lower priority compared with

other critical needs in the aftermath of Typhoon Pablo in view of its life-saving and life-sustaining nature.

Education in Emergencies

The four child-focused agencies urge all government agencies, local representatives and communities and

humanitarian partners to pay particular attention to the needs and rights of children in emergencies

including but not exclusive to the following:

7/30/2019 Joint Statement on Education in Emergencies After Typhoon Pablo by Plan International, Save the Children, World

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Education, including ECCD opportunities, should be seen as a primary component of an initialhumanitarian response, along with other emergency response interventions. The rhythm of schooling and

being able to interact with other children is essential for children to regain a much-needed sense of

routine, stability, structure and hope for the future, which in turn is critical for their psychosocial

recovery.

Disasters disrupt the schooling of children and adolescents. Children and adolescents may getinvolved in hazardous work; become vulnerable to the risks of trafficking and early marriage; and later on

be forced to drop out from school. When a child is in a safe learning environment, he or she is less likely

to be exposed to these risks. In addition, education can convey life-saving information to strengthen

critical survival skills and coping mechanisms such as protection from violence and abuse including

trafficking and sexual exploitation and essential health/sanitation/hygiene information.

Schools should only be used as evacuation centers as a last resort and for the shortest possibletime. In situations when schools have been destroyed or damaged, or when schools are used as

evacuation centers for longer periods of time, childrens right to education should be promoted bysetting-up Temporary Learning Spaces, which includes training teachers on how to run these spaces,

providing back-to-school kits and teaching-learning kits.

Temporary Learning Spaces are also used as a convergence point for other services especiallythose provided by Education, Child Protection, WASH, Health and Nutrition and Shelter Clusters.

Temporary Learning Spaces include psychosocial support and awareness sessions on child and adolescent

protection (including gender-based violence) and health (including proper nutrition and adolescent sexual

and reproductive health). All Temporary Learning Spaces must have access to water and sanitation

services including separate latrines for boys and girls.

Apart from physical support, the immediate psychosocial support services for all displaced andaffected education workers in the worst-hit areas is also critical to help them recover from stress. In turn,

this will enable them to restore the learning environment for affected children.

Setting up of Temporary Learning Spaces, and planning the provision of necessary back-to-schoolsupplies is being undertaken.

Plan International, Save the Children, World Vision and UNICEF will continue to work closely withthe Philippine Government, the Department of Education and other humanitarian partners who, withtheir commendable efforts, are addressing the urgent and pressing needs of children in emergencies.

Carin van der Hor

Country Director,

Plan International

Anna Lindenfors

Country Director,

Save the Children

Tomoo Hozumi

Representative,

UNICEF Philippines

Filomena Portales

Interim National Director

World Vision Development Foundation