Stories of Impact: Building stronger classrooms to withstand hazards in Mozambique

Natural disasters, such as cyclones and floods, have caused a disruption to education in Mozambique for decades.... The Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) provided financial and technical assistance alongside the World Bank, UN-Habitat, and the Faculty of Architecture and Physical Planning (UEM-FAPF) at Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, to support the government's efforts to develop school safety guidelines for classroom facilities across the country (p. 1).

Results and Achievements:

• A risk assessment of 637 classrooms in seven provinces was completed. Following the assessment, the government produced a catalog of hazard-resistant school construction options tailor-made for Mozambique, such as raised cement foundations and stronger, wind-proof roofs.
• School safety guidelines are now being put into place in more than 1,000 classrooms across the country.
• GFDRR-supported risk analysis tools are in use alongside guidelines on how to build resilient schools throughout Mozambique.
• This project significantly strengthens the government's school expansion policy. The government of Mozambique is enlarging the national school network by providing conventional and safe classrooms to all children of school age, thereby delivering on investments in this area.
• As a result of this work, an estimated 100,000 children in Mozambique are now able to remain in school in the aftermath of a disaster (p. 1).