Plan International headquarters

DRR is a key component in Plan’s Disaster Management Strategy and is also a global priority for developoment programme work.

Plan aims to ensure DRR is a national and local priority with strong institutional basis. Plan's programmes:

• focus on education as a primary means to build a culture of resilience;
• aim to enhance adaptive capacity and address root causes of vulnerability;
• strengthen disaster preparedness at all levels.

Programme strategies include:

• strengthening national education policies on school safety with DRR curricula and teacher training covering DRM and EiE;
• promoting child protection, gender equity and active citizenship within national policy frameworks;
• production of child-centred DRR guidelines and tools that are designed to strengthen provision and capacity for engaging children in DRM processes at local and school level;
• encouraging increases of government funding for DRR espcially at local government level;
• promoting increasing capacity and coordination among stakeholders in building resilience;
• and maximising opportunities during disasters to help governments and other humanitarian actors to ‘build back better’

Membership in Key Networks

• Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction
• Children in a Changing Climate
• Global and national education and child protection clusters

Disaster Reduction Focal Point(s)

Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation by promoting and supporting children's rights. Examples of this include:

• Establishing children and young people’s groups in schools and communities to address DRR.
• Creating opportunities for children to express their views to adults at community, local, national and global levels, through the creation of participation spaces for children.
• Promoting the development of organisational structures for debating and tackling disaster risks at school and community levels, with active participation of children.
• Support children and their groups to advocate for risk reduction and preparedness, locally, nationally and globally.

Risk assessment and early warning systems (HFA 2)

Involve children and young people to identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning. Plan's work supports:

• Vulnerability and Capacity Assessments (VCAs) conducted in schools orcommunities, actively involving children,
• The participation of children in preparedness and contingency planning.
• Development of school safety manuals and protection plans.

Education, information and public awareness (HFA 3)

Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels, because children are our future. Plan's work aims to:

• Increase children's knowledge and awareness on risks, early warning systems, DRR structures and mechanisms, and their capacity to react to potential disasters.
• Help adults appreciate both the vulnerability and the capacity of children to paly an active part in risk reduction
• Develop teacher training modules and teacher guidance on assessing (and acting to reduce) risks

Reducing underlying risk factors (HFA 4)

Involve children and young people to reduce the underlying risk factors.

Plan has pioneered a small grants facility, making funds available for groups of children and young people to initiate and manage their own projects to reduce underlying risks.

Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels, particularly at community level, concentrating on children and young people.

Plan's work has aimed to:

• Increase children’s engagement in preparedness activities in schools.
• Develop early warning systems that can be understood, monitored and activated by children.
• Train children to be involved in needs assessment, early warning, evacuation and first response (first aid etc)
• Encourage governments and humanitarian agencies to listen to the views of young people as recovery plans are developed and implemented.
• Support children's involvement, for example in PDNA processes

Other activities

Plan's DRR work aims also to contribute to the realisation of children's rights, as expressed in the Convention on Children's Rights.

Plan's DRR programme aims to contribute, through risk prevention, mitigation and reduction to an increased realisation of children’s rights to:

• Life: Child-centred DRR programmes work towards safer communities for children and the reduction of disaster risks that may affect their lives (learning life saving skills such as swimming and first aid).
• Education: providing safer spaces for children to study, to minimising the disruption of schooling during emergency situations, to engaging children in learning new knowledge and skills, including technical knowledge and life saving skills, and to developing respect for the natural environment.
• Health: Combating water-borne or insect-borne diseases arising from environmental pollution, lack of sanitation or garbage mismanagement and increased knowledge on hygiene and environmental sanitation, and the prevention of accidents.
• Participation: Plan's child-centred DRR creates spaces for children’s participation in schools, in communities and in DRR structures, but also at national and global levels and by fostering opportunities for adults and children to exchange and confront views through intergenerational dialogue.