The government of Vanuatu, with support from donors and humanitarian actors, have begun to develop a significant focus on disaster preparedness and response. Within the National Disaster Management Organization two leading staff members interface regularly with Ministry of Education providing guidance and taking ownership of programs underway in cooperation with Save the Children and other stakeholders. Although climate-smart DRR education is underway, and while some initial efforts have been made in school disaster planning, it is in a very embryonic stage.
A focus for this project is the 'mentoring of champions' within the education sector. This will result in increased capacity within the Ministry of Education and schools to support replication of the approach into other provinces. The action contributes to the global campaign for safe schools by supporting a framework for school disaster management at the national, sub-national, and local levels, by identifying the key messages to support household participation in school safety, and by proving tools that can be used at the national level to convey and practice school safety action planning by all school communities throughout the country.