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A recent report from the Asian Development Bank suggests that South-east Asia is likely to suffer more from climate change than the global average with the potential to exacerbate water shortages, constrain agricultural production, threaten food security and increase health risks. The report claims that climate change could seriously hinder Southeast

Asia’s sustainable development and poverty reduction efforts. Disaster risk reduction and preparedness measures are poorly developed in Myanmar. Both at community level and within civil society groups, awareness of the approaches and principles of preparedness and response is low.

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Save the Children’s Presence in Myanmar Save the Children has collectively reached nearly 45,000 children with over USD$3.7million funding from DIPECHO, USAID, NOVO, OFDA, DANIDA, Tetra Laval and AusAID for its DRR activities. Save the Children has established a specific Child-led framework in Myanmar. The importance of children in bringing about sustainable DRR has been highlighted – addressing the issue of longer term risk and vulnerability reduction and to rebuild post disaster more effectively. There are a number of hazards faced by Myanmar, including cyclones, floods and whirlwinds that cause a high level of damage, particularly to homes and shelters, yet many buildings do not apply the basic principles of cyclone resistant construction.

Preparedness and MitigationCommunity based and child-led DRR in Myanmar has achieved significant results in defining risk and resource mapping, and developing action plans for risk mitigation, ideas for early warning using local resources, and developing pamphlets about fire prevention and mock drills about what to do in the event of disasters taking place. This has strengthened capacity and increased resilience of vulnerable communities across the country to prepare and respond to emergencies and climate change.

Reconstruction and Retrofitting Many of the deaths that were caused by Cyclone Nargis were because people had no safe place to shelter during the storm. Save the Children supplied the building materials for “safer schools” and trained people in the village to build in ways which will give them more protection from storms. Schools were retrofitted with extra brackets on the rafters, using screws instead of nails and extra cross-beams so that they can withstand future cyclones.

DRR & EducationChild-led DRR action plans have focused on collective community issues such as repairing infrastructure at schools and improving the environment. Developing Child-led DRR has taken place with local authorities and has been encouraged by the Ministry of Education. Our ‘Disaster Response and Resilience Learning Project (DRRLP)’ has created an innovative learning approach that emphasizes field-level focus and location, on-the-job learning, peer support, and personal reflection learning. Activities include self-study handbook including DRR, DRR mainstreaming, Community-Based DRR, Child-led DRR, Climate change and impact on environment. Additionally, children participated in workshops, discussion group meetings and exposure visits.

We have ensured that structures are in place to allow the poorest and most vulnerable children access education post emergency, integrating both child protection and education in our emergency response.

Top: Children draw maps of their village in the Irrawaddy Delta, Myanmar (Burma). Save the Children is helping children identify the dangerous areas and safer places if there is another cyclone. Two thirds of the children in the village were killed when Cyclone Nargis swept across the delta in May 2008.

Bottom: Tin Lin Htun (right), eight, works on a map of his village in the Irrawaddy Delta, Myanmar (Burma). Tin Lin Htun survived Cyclone Nargis by clinging onto a log. His parents also survived but he lost three siblings.

Building a multi-agency capacity for Disaster Management A multi-agency capacity building initiative designed to increase understanding of disaster management and humanitarian practices across a wide number of civil society groups, including national and international NGOs. Save the Children strengthened the capacity and increase the resilience of vulnerable communities in the Dry Zone of Myanmar, and built capacity of civil society groups to prepare for and respond to natural disasters. Save the Children is well networked with the various food 

security coordinating forums in Myanmar, including the Thematic Group for Food Security and Agriculture, as well as the Food Security Working Group, which has provided a good platform for organisational capacity building.