UNESCO has accumulated vast experience in the field of research, planning, design, construction, management and maintenance of educational buildings and furniture for all educational levels. Through its Architecture for Education Units in Paris, Bangkok, Dakar and Beirut, UNESCO helps Member States to address their school building problems. The technical assistance has been particularly forthcoming in situations of civil unrest, war or post-war situations, and in the case of natural disasters.

In the case of natural disaster prone countries, the programme plays an important role in designing safe and secure school buildings. This includes assessing the damage of the educational buildings and furniture, drawing up of emergency plans of action for immediate relief and rehabilitation, as well as preparing and implementing projects. Guidelines have also been developed for earthquake and other natural hazard-prone areas including the construction of prototypes and training on disaster prevention. Publications of research conducted are made available to countries with similar conditions. Examples of countries to which assistance has been provided include Armenia, Bangladesh, Egypt, El Salvador, Madagascar and Vietnam.

UNESCO’s assistance in emergency situations is thus not merely limited to the reconstruction of schools after the fact – rather, it has given considerable attention to the provision of information and guidelines to avert any potential damage particularly to school buildings. In cases where the damage has already occurred, the response to assistance has been supplemented by sub-regional training courses by leading experts.

More than often countries with similar climatic cycles have been encouraged to share and broaden their experience, concerns, solutions and emergency strategies and increase cooperation with one another.

Although regions affected by fierce windstorms have been identified and recommendations for building designs, structures, preventive measures suited to the respective areas highlighted, it is not always possible for countries to upgrade their technology or design for a variety of reasons.

It is nevertheless a proven case in UNESCO’s experience that the pooled resources of international and national agencies which went towards improved satellite warning systems and the provision of better buildings in Bangladesh helped mitigate the otherwise even more devastating effect of the cyclone which hit the country in 1991.

As the table below shows, the projected number of deaths in 1990 would have been double that of 1970 in proportion to the growth in population. And although the loss of life in reality was enormous in the cyclone of 1991, it was much less than it would have been had precautionary measures of warning systems and improved building structures not occurred at all. (Box 1):