Why this Initiative? The Second Session of the Global Platform on DRR, held in Geneva in June 2009, proposed that by 2011 national assessments of the safety of existing education and health facilities should be undertaken, and that by 2015 concrete action plans for safer schools and hospitals should be developed and implemented in all disaster prone countries. The High-Level Dialogue Communiqué of the Fourth Session of the Global Platform on DRR in May 2013 proposed to “Start a global safe schools and safe health structures campaign in disaster-prone areas with voluntary funding and commitments to be announced at the World Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction for 2015.”

Why safe schools and hospitals? People in unsafe schools and hospitals are at the greatest risk of losing their lives. Children in schools and the sick in hospitals and health facilities are the most vulnerable people in times of disaster. When schools are damaged, learning opportunities are disrupted, and the quality of education drops. When hospitals and health facilities are destroyed, the treatment of the sick is hampered and the saving of victims during a catastrophe becomes difficult.

Purpose Involve everybody - individuals, groups or institutions Raise public awareness and create social demand for safe schools & hospitals

Who can pledge? Everybody can pledge Individual – student, parent, teacher, patient, doctor, nurse Community, Organizations, Institutions Local and National Governments Business groups and corporations Donors

The Pledge has 3 components Public Awareness - make people aware about safe schools and hospitals Emergency and Disaster Preparedness - be prepared in case of emergencies and disasters Disaster Risk Reduction - contribute time, effort or resources to make schools and hospitals safer

What it means to pledge? The commitment is your commitment, embodied as a person, a family, a society, an organization, a government enterprise or entity action. You should choose a school, hospital or medical facility, you will start the promise of action. Have each person's commitment. You can guarantee a simple task, a complex project or a large investment. Depending on your ability, time and resources, you can choose the appropriate role of the pledges into three categories:

How to pledge?

“Awareness is the first step towards action” (UNISDR 2007)

After Pledging… Useful guides to act on your pledge

If you complete your pledge Submit your success story and inspire others

Philippines Launch 60,000 institutions pledged

Indonesia Launch 14,000 institutions pledged

Thailand Launch 34,000 institutions pledged

Actor Jet Li Campaign Patron

Actress Christine Hakim Campaign Patron

More than 189,000 (plus 20,000 in the Americas) institutions pledged so far as of August 2013

Make a pledge, save a life