SAVE the Children Philippines bagged the UN SASAKAWA Award for its innovative programs on disaster risk reduction and management that support Filipino children’s meaningful participation and protection from emergencies.

The 2022 UN SASAKAWA Award, which promotes inclusive and accessible DRR practices in line with the Sendai Framework, recognized Save the Children’s Comprehensive School Safety Ecosystems and Quality Assurance System programs that have been rolled out to more than 21,000 schools and 12,000 villages, respectively.

The programs ensure that the vital needs of children, schools and communities are addressed.

“Save the Children envisions a world where children are protected every day and in times of crisis. It is essential that we strengthen our work to improve risk reduction and response mechanisms to protect children’s rights to survival, education, and protection, and build community resilience,” Atty. Alberto Muyot, Save the Children Philippines CEO, said.

The Philippines ranked ninth in the 2020 World Risk Index and 17th in the 2021 Global Climate Risk Index among countries most affected by extreme weather events, natural disasters, and numerous complex emergencies due to armed conflict.

Save the Children Philippines’ CSS Ecosystems program uses technology to help develop the Department of Education’s DRR information system by combining digital tools for data collection, analysis, planning, and decision-making.

This includes the Rapid Assessment of Damages ReportMobile App which assesses the needs of schools, personnel, and learners, and the Batang Empowered and Resilient Team, a peer-to-peer capacity building program that allows children to participate in school and community DRR programs and engage with government/ duty-bearers. The program has already trained 10,000 learners.

Save the Children’s QAS supports risk-informed and responsive Barangay DRRM plans through standardized planning tools, quality benchmarks and technology for data consolidation and info-sharing. More than 42,000 villages will be using QAS for their DRRM template.

Save the Children Philippines works with the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Office of Civil Defense and other government agencies for the QAS for Barangay DRRM Planning, and with the DepEd and Prudence Foundation for the CSS Ecosystems program.

Marc Fancy, Executive Director of Prudence Foundation,  lauded Save the Children for snagging the Sasakawa Award.

“Prudence Foundation is delighted that Save the Children Philippines has been recognized with the prestigious UN SASAKAWA Award for its innovative efforts in Disaster Risk Reduction in the Philippines. This is a great reflection of the many years and effort towards building resilience in Disaster Risk Reduction across the Philippines, and a journey that Prudence Foundation has been proud to have supported and partnered on together with the Department of Education in the Philippines,” he said.