»ÆÉ«ÊÓƵ

ISLAMABAD, (November 19, 2024) – A new climate-resilient school built to withstand extreme weather has opened in Pakistan's Sindh province, where just one in five of the nearly 20,000 schools that were destroyed or damaged in catastrophic flooding two years ago have been or are being rebuilt, »ÆÉ«ÊÓƵsaid.

The school, built by »ÆÉ«ÊÓƵand now handed over to the Sindh Ministry of Education and Literacy, replaces a building that was destroyed in 2022 and is designed to withstand flooding, with high ceilings and increased ventilation to keep students cool during intense heatwaves, and with solar panels to provide sustainable, uninterrupted electricity. It will benefit 412 students.

The hope is that the new climate-resilient school will pave the way for future similar projects in Sindh province, where about 19,808 schools were damaged or destroyed two years ago, disrupting learning for 2.9 million children, with Sindh province one of the hardest hit areas.

Since the floods, only 1 in 5 schools - or about 4,000 - have been or are being rebuilt due to a lack of funding, said Save the Children, leaving about 2.3 million children without adequate classrooms. The provincial government is trying to secure funding from international donors for the more than 15,800 remaining schools [1].

More than 1,700 people lost their lives in Pakistan in the 2022 floods, which displaced around 8 million people. So far this year, more flooding across the country has killed 357 people, including 183 children [2]. Intense heatwaves are also jeopardizing children's health and their rights. Temperatures exceeding 45°C in parts of Sindh lead to more than 15,700 people in the province being treated for heat-related illnesses between May and July and the closure of schools for more than half of the country's school-aged children [3].

Children attending the new school had been forced to learn under tarpaulins over the past two years. One student, Arsalan, 13, lost his home in the 2022 floods after the water level reached the roof, submerging his village. He said: "When we came back after three months, we saw our homes destroyed and in bad condition. We went to school, but our teacher told us, 'The building is not safe, so you cannot continue education here'. We were disappointed to hear this. When our teacher told us to go back home, we were crying [about] how we can continue our education." Pakistan has one of the world's highest rates of children out of school. About 36% of children aged five to 16 - or 25.3 million – are not attending classes. More than three-quarters of those have never attended school [4].

Khuram Gondal, Country Director for »ÆÉ«ÊÓƵPakistan, said: "This is not just about rebuilding a school - it's about securing a future for children where education can continue uninterrupted despite increasing extreme weather. Between January 2022 and June 2024, children in Pakistan lost 97 days of school – more than half of a typical academic year – due to the impacts of the climate crisis [5]. Extreme weather, which is getting more frequent and severe due to climate change, disrupts children's lives again and again – particularly those in lower-income countries like Pakistan or those who are already experiencing inequality.

Children in Pakistan urgently need more funding from international donors to be able to rebuild their communities and their lives in a way that withstands future shocks. And the impact of the climate crisis on services that are critical for children, like education, needs to be recognized in the global response.

As leaders meet at COP29, children in Pakistan are clamoring for their voices to be heard – their futures are at stake, and they – like children the world over - must be part of the decisions that are shaping them."

Despite contributing less than 1% of total global carbon emissions, Pakistan is one of the world's most vulnerable countries to the impacts of the climate crisis, with the Children's Climate Risk Index 2021 ranking the country as 'Extremely High' on children's exposure and vulnerability to climate change [6].

A key new financial target to support climate action in low- and middle-income countries - the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG) – will be discussed and agreed on at COP29. It is critical that this is ambitious in urgently closing the adaptation finance gap and providing funding for loss and damage through new and additional climate finance – and that this financing prioritizes children and their rights, voices and unique vulnerabilities.

»ÆÉ«ÊÓƵhas been working in Pakistan since 1979 and was the first international NGO to respond to the 2022 floods emergency, reaching more than 1.1 million people in flood-affected areas, including about 600,000 children. Among them, 27,400 people have benefited from education programs, including temporary learning centers and teacher training, and the reconstruction of schools.

Ìý

Notes to editors

The newly built climate-resilient school is a model for future school infrastructure in Pakistan, designed to withstand extreme weather and natural disasters – including floods, earthquakes and heatwaves while offering safe, inclusive learning spaces for children. As well as the new school, »ÆÉ«ÊÓƵhas completed the rehabilitation of 28 existing schools in Sindh with funding from the Disasters Emergency Committee and ECHO. »ÆÉ«ÊÓƵhas also repaired or rebuilt an additional 50 schools damaged or destroyed by the 2022 floods in other parts of Pakistan.

the COP28 climate change summit last year, »ÆÉ«ÊÓƵannounced an unprecedented US$ 70 million investment with the Green Climate Fund and the Global Partnership for Education to build climate-resilient schools in vulnerable countries.