N.S.M. Muzzammel Huq :
Children all over the world are considered as the future of human society, civilization. The physical, psychological and mental growth of the children is essential to become a worthy generation for human civilization to flourish. But the future generation, children, have become vulnerable to frequent and intense disaster events around the globe. Children have become at risk mostly for the negative effects of disaster and they are psychologically and physically vulnerable to death, injury, illness, abuse, post traumatic stress disorder and often experience disruptions or delays in their educational program due to disasters. Children have special requirement and want to fulfill their physical, social, mental and emotional need than adults. Paradoxically, children also have the capacity to contribute to disaster preparedness, response and recovery activities. So in order to combat disaster promotion of children’s resilience to disaster, we must improve their access to resources, empower them encouraging their participation, offer support, and ensure equitable opportunities.
A disaster, with its multifarious nature, is creating serious disruption in the functioning of a community that involves widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts. This exceeds the ability of the affected community or serviette to cope with using its own resources. Disaster is considered as the consequence of inappropriately managed risk. These risks are the combination of both hazards and vulnerability. Developing countries suffer the greatest costs when a disaster hits. The losses due to natural disaster are 20 times greater in the developing countries than the industrialized countries which the children are the most vulnerable to disaster in developing countries.
Disasters are of many kinds and manifestation hurricane and tropical storm, earth quake, flood, cyclone, tidalbore, tornado and severe storm, wild fire, drought, thunder storm and lightening, emergency diseases, extreme heat, hail etc. Man made and technological disasters include sexual abuse radiological emergencies, chemical and biological weapons, cyber attacks, explosion, civil unrest, global warming, plane crash, forest fire, building collapse, train derailment, vassal capsize, overloading of road and riverine transports.
The vast population of Bangladesh contains about 48 percent children. The impact of disasters disrupts households and learning center injuring them physically and mentally. So for reducing the risks of disaster a systematic approach in needed. This would include assessing socio-economic vulnerabilities as well as dealing with the environmental and other hazards that trigger them. It is agreed that no single group or organization can address every aspect of Disaster Risk Reduction; it is a complex problem that demands collective response of international organizations, communities, government, national and local organizations. But at the same time government should be the main actor in reducing the risks of disaster. Government has to ensure the protection and safety of the citizens.
Climate change is increasing the strength and frequency of storms, cyclones, floods and droughts. The impact of these disasters depends on people’s vulnerability and their ability to cope. By building community resilience and helping people to adapt climate change, we can reduce the impact of future disasters.
Disaster Risk Reduction is a relatively new concept based on three core areas: Prevention, Mitigations and Preparedness. Child centered Disaster Risk Reduction is an innovative approach to disaster Risk Reduction that foster the children and youth in groups and as individuals to work forward making their lives safer and their communities more resilient to disasters. Child centered Disaster Risk Reduction is a right based approach combining child-focused and child led activities with interventions towards bringing about change in the community, local and national levels. It includes awareness raising, capacity building, group formation, institutional development, research and advocacy across a range of areas. In Bangladesh Union Disaster Management Committees now have young people as full time members.
The inclusion of children will add value of working methodology to combat the impact of disasters and also add strength in prevention and mitigation stages. The children are vulnerable group, they have a unique and holistic perception of risks and they are also effective risk communicators. Empowered children are innovative agents of change and can maximize the adoptive capacity needed to address natural disasters and climate change. Besides, children can change behavior of the people for having more sustained development. Children are the leaders and decision makers of tomorrow.
Building a culture of ensuring safety and resistance and supporting children to help prevent, mitigate, and minimize disaster impacts is the demand of the time. For this there needs a long term perspective plan of having child-based and child centered Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) policy which is utmost needed with the aim to focus children’s learning and engagement in urban risk reduction initiatives. DRR conference was organized on 27 October, 2017. That helped demonstrate children’s involvement in DRR awareness and practice. The conference concluded with the declaration of children recommendations for effective disaster management and ensure enabling environment for children and urban locations.
The Declaration covers- making sure that children will have available DRR, knowledge and get life training for DRR and they can act as agent of change in DRR, ensuring children’s education will not be disrupted by disasters and making proper plan for their education continuity, making sure that children’s participation in local level DRR committee is ensured and children voices will be addressed at local and national level planning, ensuring safe infrastructure for schools and take necessary effective initiatives to keep children safe from disaster in school and making sure that disaster risk reduction information is addressed and include resilience education in the schools curriculum are also among the declarations.
In reducing Disaster Risks we must pay importance and attention to the most vulnerable section of our population- the children who are our future. We should not forget that we not only inherited this earth from our ancestors but also borrowed it from the future generation-children.
(N.S.M. Muzzammel Huq is Assistant Population Programe Officer, Ministry of Information. PID Project Feature)
