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ABOUT THIS ISSUE
Assam is one of the most Indian union which is exposed to the risks of large earthquakes (as it lies in seismic zone V), incessant flooding and concomitant erosion, landslides and storms. Children bear a disproportionate burden of the adverse impacts of these hazards when they materialize into disasters. For instance, during the Assam floods of 2012, more than half the affected people were children. The detrimental impacts of such disasters are reflected in the dwindling trend noticed in several child welfare indices. In the exigent times brought on by disasters, children's access to quality education is severely inhibited.
This underscores the need for pursuing the ideal of school safety in the state.
This issue of Southasiadisasters.net is titled 'Local Capacity Building for Safer Schools'. Taking note of the need to enhance school safety in the state, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) has launched a massive capacity building initiative aimed to train the teachers of selected schools across the state on how to manage the risks in their respective schools. This issue contains an overview of this initiative, its main achievements and the lessons learnt.
By showcasing the success of capacity building school safety initiatives in Assam, this issue puts forward a strong case for replicating and upscaling Safer Schools efforts at Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction at Cancun, Mexico.
– Kshitij Gupta, AIDMI