Desarrollando ciudades resilientes 1 Millón de Escuelas y Hospitales Más Seguros
 

MEXICO MAKES A COMMITMENT TO THE UN TO PROMOTE SAFER SCHOOLS IN THE FACE OF DISASTER

Photo: Gonzalo Bell. El Salvador.

By: UNISDR - The Americas

PANAMA, Panama, January 28, 2014 - The Government of the United Mexican States, through the National Civil Protection Service of the Ministry of Interior, promised to 'assume responsibility as Champion of the Global Programme for School Safety, to promote safety in the face of risks in schools towards 2016, to the extent that its objectives are in line with Mexican practices on the matter'.

This was expressed in an official letter from the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the Office of the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva, Switzerland; recently sent to the Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, coordinated by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), from Geneva and through its regional offices on five continents.

In the face of increased frequency and impact of disasters, particularly in the last decade, and aware that the risk of loss of life and property damage increases as floods, earthquakes or other natural hazards occur in communities where basic infrastructure such as schools and hospitals is unsafe; UNISDR will formalize this Global Programme aimed at strengthening school safety, at the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, to be held in Sendai, Japan in March 2015.
Since 2006, the UNISDR has promoted Campaigns like 'Disaster Risk Reduction Begins at School'(2006-2007), 'Safe Hospitals' (2008-2009) and 'One Million Safe Schools and Hospitals', the latter in the framework of the Global Campaign 'Making Cities Resilient: My City is Getting Ready!' in force since 2010 and primarily promoted by the Regional Office for the Americas and its strategic partners.

Some 23,000 institutions and more than 1,200 people have joined the 'One Million Safe Schools and Hospitals' initiative through its Internet portal.

Other countries are also prioritizing school safety in the face of disaster risk, as in the case of the Philippines, which recently launched the Programme 'How Safe is Your School?', as a result of the impact of Typhoon Haiyan and the consequent displacement 1.7 million children, in addition to the damage to hundreds of schools that could not even be used as a temporary shelter.

The program 'How safe is your school?', also supported by UNISDR, urges students, faculty and communities to proactively evaluate the preparedness and capacity for resilience of their schools.

Related links:
 'One Million Safe Schools and Hospitals' Initiative (Spanish)

'How Safe is Your School?' Programme