Islamabad; 18th December:
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) signed a joint work plan on Monday. Chairman NDMA, Lt. Gen Omar Mahmood Hayat and the Acting Representative of UNICEF, Cris Munduate signed the document.
This work plan is in line with its agenda to implement a Child-Centered Disaster Risk Reduction approach in preparing and responding to disasters, as well as early recovery.
Since 2015, NDMA-UNICEF partnership has aimed to enhance NDMA’s capacity and delivery of services to minimize risks for children and ensure their well-being and protection in disaster preparedness, response and recovery. Several national level policy documents have been developed and implemented under the partnership. One of the key achievements was the formulation of the Pakistan School Safety Framework and its pilot in all provinces and regions of Pakistan, including ICT, AJK and GB.
The current multi-year work plan of 2017-18 continues to focus on the following priority areas: Child-centered disaster risk reduction through child-inclusive risk assessment, school safety and education in emergencies to ensure sustainability of education in all times, children’s participation through advocacy and communication, knowledge management, capacity building and institutional strengthening for child inclusive climate change adaptation (CCA), capacity building and engagement of relevant stakeholders for disaster preparedness, mitigation and prevention and Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in schools
Chairman NDMA, while speaking on the occasion, said that 2018-19 work plan will serve as another milestone in NDMA’s efforts to ensure that children are protected and prepared for emergencies and their voices are included in decision-making process & policy formulation at all levels of disaster management.
Ms. Cris Munduate said that collaborative efforts of both organizations led to outstanding achievements in the last years. UNICEF advocates that the survival, protection and development of children are universal development imperatives, that are integral to human progress; and in this vein she looks forward to supporting NDMA to further the rights of children in all phases of disasters.