Children and Disasters: Understanding Impact and Enabling Agency

Abstract

From a child rights perspective disaster impacts affect not only a child's basic right to survival and development, but cut across their right to participate and for decisions to be made in their best interests. Child-centred approaches recognise the role and rights of children as citizens and agents of change, seeking to engage them in DRR/CCA (Disaster Risk Reduction/Climate Change Adaptation) decision-making and accountability processes and supporting child-centred community-based programmes of action. The research produced two papers, one on Undertanding Impacts of disasters on child welfare, and the second to identify the factors which create an enabling environment for children to engage in climate change and disaster risk reduction. This report synthesises the research outputs to produce a comprehensive report looking into the need both for child sensitive programmes to tackle disasters and climate change, but also at the need for child participation in programming and policy.