Basic education and gender equality

‘Beyond School Books’ – a podcast series on education in emergencies

Podcast #8: Natural Disasters and School Construction

© UNICEF/ HQ08-0551/Dea

A girl cries during a commemorative gathering for students who were killed when their school collapsed during the earthquake in Sichuan Province, China.

NEW YORK, USA, 25 June 2008 – With an estimated 10,000 child fatalities from school collapses in the Sichuan earthquake in China, safe school construction has become a central issue for parents, governments and the international development community. Are such catastrophes easily preventable? Why do some schools collapse and not others? Is it simply a matter of better construction?

Earthquake experts, architects and humanitarian aid workers have been working to set higher building standards – especially where children are concerned. What more can they do to ensure communities that their children will be safe at school?

Click here to listen to a UNICEF Radio podcast discussion on natural disasters and school construction, with a focus on the recent earthquake in China and the experience of the 2004 Asian tsunami, featuring these guests:

Kate Stohr, co-founder of Architecture for Humanity and co-editor of the book, ‘Design Like you Give a Damn’; Dr. Brian Tucker, founder and President of GeoHazards International; and Dr. Gianfranco Rotigliano, UNICEF's Representative in Indonesia.