December 13, 2016
With 80 percent of disaster deaths occurring in Asia and nine of 10 Southeast Asian children spending “half their waking hours in schools,” the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has also launched a Safe Schools Initiative. Measures, such as building disaster-resilient facilities or training teachers and students in emergency safety procedures, aim to “enhance school safety against the adverse impacts of natural and man-made hazards.”
At least 75 million children globally had their education disrupted by natural or manmade disasters last year, according to a report by London-based charity Theirworld; 37 million were forced out of school completely.
When children are out of school, they are “at greater risk of being coerced or exploited by extremists, traffickers and criminals,” the report said.
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