Africa

Mit dem plötzlichen Rücktritt des Premierministers steht Frankreich nun vor einem erneuten Machtvakuum.

HALO Surveyor taking coordinates of UXO found near Betikama Power House, Guadalcanal Province. Credit: HALO TRUST

By External Source
NEW YORK, Oct 6 2025 (IPS-Partners)

As we celebrate this year’s World Teachers’ Day – with the central theme of recasting teaching as a collaborative profession – Education Cannot Wait (ECW) calls on people everywhere to provide teachers and the communities they serve with the resources they need to succeed in their crucial profession.

Today’s teachers need holistic teaching and learning methods, training on technology and the use of Artificial Intelligence, and other cutting-edge practices. And teachers cannot do their work without safe working conditions, fair pay and integrated support at the local, national and international level.

On the frontlines of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises – in places like Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti and Sudan – teachers face unimaginable challenges, low pay – and sometimes no pay – overcrowded classrooms, limited technology, inadequate financial support and life-threatening violence.

To address these interconnected challenges, ECW and its donors are investing in teachers across the globe.

In 2023 and 2024, ECW invested in our strategic partners to train over 144,000 teachers (56% of them female) on topics including pedagogy, gender and disability inclusion, disaster-risk reduction, and mental health and psychosocial support services. 35,000 teachers (48% female) were also financially supported with salary assistance, renumeration of volunteer teachers and social provisions such as health care insurance or daycare facilities for teachers with children.

Together with national and international investments in education, ECW supports crisis-affected girls and boys with the foundational skills – such as reading, writing and mathematics – needed to become productive members of society.

Together, we must create enabling policies and provide adequate funding to ensure teachers everywhere have the safety, training and support they need to thrive in their profession. Teachers are frontline heroes tasked with educating our next generation of leaders.

 

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Willkommen bei Rapporteur! Jeden Tag liefern wir Ihnen die wichtigsten Nachrichten und Hintergründe aus der EU- und Europapolitik. Need-to-knows: Tschechien: Die populistische Milliardärspartei ANO von Andrej Babiš gewinnt die Parlamentswahl. Frankreich: Bruno Le Maire kehrt als Verteidigungsminister in das neue Kabinett von Lecornu zurück. Gaza: In Ägypten treffen sich Unterhändler zu indirekten Friedensgesprächen zwischen Hamas […]

A young boy was standing in front of a flooded area in Thuamul Rampur, Odisha, India. Disaster shelters are vital to ensure the normal livelihood in disaster-prone areas. Credit: Pexels/Parij Photography via ESCAP

By Rajan Sudesh Ratna, Jing Huang and Sanjit Beriwal
BANGKOK Thailand, Oct 6 2025 (IPS)

South Asia is home to nearly two billion people and ranks among the most disaster-prone subregions in Asia and the Pacific. Every year, millions face exposure to floods, cyclones and other extreme events. The Bay of Bengal alone accounts for nearly 80 per cent of global cyclone-related deaths, with storms striking Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka with growing frequency.

Although South Asia hosts one-quarter of the world’s population, it also contains nearly half of the global population living in poverty conditions that magnify vulnerability across the subregion. Building disaster resilience is therefore not only urgent but existential.

Odisha, with its long coastline, has repeatedly faced severe cyclones that have taken lives and destroyed property. The devastation of the 1999 super cyclone, which exposed the absence of coordinated warning systems, resilient shelters, and effective relief mechanisms, became the turning point for the state.

When Cyclone Phailin struck in 2013, the state evacuated more than one million people, saving thousands of lives compared to 1999. In 2019, Cyclone Fani brought extensive destruction, but fatalities remained under 100. These outcomes illustrate Odisha’s transformation from one of India’s most disaster-affected states into a pioneer of anticipatory disaster governance.

This success did not occur by chance. Odisha pursued a “zero casualty” model and created the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) in 2000, invested in cyclone shelters, early warning systems and a specialized disaster response force. Most importantly, Odisha placed communities and local governance at the center of its approach.

The state redefined preparedness by integrating local governments into disaster planning, building resilient infrastructure and mobilizing social capacity through women’s groups, village committees and trained volunteers. This people-centered model turned disaster management from a top-down directive into a community movement.

Comparative cyclone outcomes in Odisha

Sources: Government of Odisha (2013); OSDMA (2019; 2025c); UNDRR (2019); Pati (2019).

Building disaster resilience and beyond

The Odisha experience is more than a local success, it offers a global lesson. Climate change is intensifying storms, floods and heatwaves across Asia and beyond, and countries from Bangladesh to the Philippines face similar risks. Odisha demonstrates that resilience depends not only on high-tech forecasting systems but also on empowered local institutions, trust and participation.

Learning from Odisha highlights two critical aspects for disaster risk management:

(i) Local leadership and community group support: Local leaders draw on their knowledge of terrain, vulnerable groups and community networks to act as effective first responders in emergencies. Community groups extend this reach by mobilizing people, building trust, and ensuring that warnings translate into collective action.

(ii) Resilient infrastructure with rapid response and technology support: A combination of robust infrastructure, a specialized rapid response force, and technology-driven early warning systems enables faster evacuations, safer shelters, and timely relief during major cyclones.

The way forward: From local action to global responsibility

Odisha’s story shows that resilience is strongest when every actor plays a role. National governments, local authorities, communities, international organizations and the private sector each contribute in distinct ways, and together they can turn effective practices into global standards.

● Governments build the backbone of resilience. They establish strong policies, legal frameworks and sustained investments in disaster infrastructure. Governments must lead by setting “zero casualty” goals, funding cyclone shelters, expanding early warning systems and empowering local institutions. Local governments then serve as the frontline implementers, ensuring that policies translate into action and communities receive the support they need.
● Local communities provide the foundation of disaster preparedness. Villages, self-help groups and local councils translate official warnings into action by mapping evacuation routes, training volunteers and strengthening trust so that alerts are followed without hesitation.
● International organizations connect local success to global progress. By financing early warning systems, facilitating South–South knowledge exchange and scaling up community-based models, organizations such as ESCAP and UNDRR can amplify the impact across borders.
● The private sector drives innovation and investment in resilience. Telecom operators, fintech companies and clean energy providers can enhance disaster communications, enable mobile payments for relief, and power shelters through renewable energy. Insurance providers can design affordable products that help households and businesses recover more quickly.

Odisha’s experience illustrates how deliberate reforms, paired with strong community participation, can save thousands of lives. As climate change intensifies hazards across Asia and the Pacific, Odisha’s model demonstrates that resilience depends not only on technology and infrastructure but also on trust, participation and local capacity.

Rajan Sudesh Ratna is Deputy Head, ESCAP Subregional Office for South and South-West Asia; Jing Huang is Economic Affairs Officer, ESCAP Subregional Office for South and South-West Asia; and Sanjit Beriwal is Research Intern, ESCAP Subregional Office for South and South-West Asia

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Photos capture the joy and unity present at this year's Irreecha festival.

Photos capture the joy and unity present at this year's Irreecha festival.

Photos capture the joy and unity present at this year's Irreecha festival.

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