The ASEAN Safe Schools Initiative (ASSI) Phase II (2014-2016) waslaunched on November 24 in Jakarta, Indonesia, to promote a strategicpartnership for better collaboration among the ASEAN member countries inadvancing safe schools in the region.

The participation of ASEANcountries in the initiative launching underscored the firm resolve tocontinue building safer schools and enabling children to become moreresilient to disasters, said Colonel Pengiran Haji Chuchu, Director ofthe National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) of Brunei.

TheSoutheast Asia region has a high incidence of disasters caused bynatural hazards, added Pengiran Haji Chuchu, who is also Chair of theASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ADCM).

According to theADCM, more than 100 million children live and study in areas prone todisasters such as earthquakes, floods, typhoons and fire.

In the last five years, 14,500 schools in the ASEAN region were fully or partially damaged by natural disasters.

TheASSI implementation will involve the ministries of education anddisaster management agencies from each ASEAN member countries at thegovernmental level, a number of humanitarian organisations such as MercyMalaysia, Plan International, Save the Children and World Vision, otherstakeholders in the respective ASEAN countries, including civilsocieties and media.

The initiative has currently been funded bythe European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil ProtectionDepartment (ECHO) and Australian Aid.

Edward Turvill, RegionalDisaster Risk Reduction Coordinator from ECHO Asia/Pacific, said theinitiative launching is considered timely given the recent one yearmarking of Typhoon Haiyan and the upcoming tenth year anniversary of theAsia Tsunami, which both caused massive devastation in Southeast Asia.

ASEAN countries have committed to ensuring that all girlsand boys and teachers at schools have safer teaching-learning facilitiesand are equipped with proper training and skills in disaster riskreduction.-VNA