Nikhil Aiyush Kumar 
[Photo: Supplied]
Thousands of Pacific children are set to benefit from safer and more climate-resilient schools under a new $43.4 million partnership between the European Union and UNICEF.
The Pacific Climate Resilient Education Systems programme was launched on the sidelines of the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Palau.
It comes as cyclones, floods and rising sea levels continue to damage schools across the region, disrupting learning and forcing communities to repeatedly rebuild.
The five-year programme will support Pacific governments to upgrade school infrastructure and ensure schools can remain operational during and after disasters.
The upgrades will include climate-resilient water and sanitation systems, renewable energy and improved connectivity.
It will also strengthen maintenance systems, helping governments plan and budget for the long-term upkeep of school facilities.
Around 15-thousand children in Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati and Solomon Islands are expected to directly benefit from the improved facilities.
Another two-thousand teachers and school administrators will receive training in disaster preparedness and school resilience.
The initiative will also engage about 25-thousand community members in disaster risk reduction and school maintenance.
UNICEF says the partnership aims to move Pacific countries away from short-term repairs and towards long-term solutions that protect children’s education from growing climate
risks.
The programme will be implemented by Ministries of Education, UNICEF, National Disaster Management Offices, climate change authorities and regional organisations across the four countries.
