Project Objectives: • To reduce the challenges faced by disabled individuals and students in disasters and emergency situations, and to enhance health and safety through innovative approaches to teaching and learning. • To increase the level of key competencies and skills, particularly those crucial for children, youth, and disabled individuals, while reducing the response time after disasters and emergencies occur. • To identify methods for implementing innovative teaching and learning approaches that address the needs of disabled children, youth, and individuals. • To conduct in-depth research and present a report on the difficulties faced by disabled individuals in disasters and emergencies, as well as the current situation. • To create accessible, adaptable, and multilingual resources using interactive games, open educational resources, and mobile applications. • To provide support on how healthy individuals should approach disabled individuals and what measures should be taken in the event of a disaster. • To decrease the number of injuries or deaths through disasters in general. • To increase the knowledge of students and community about the safety of disabled persons in different scenarios.
Every year, millions of children worldwide are affected by disasters in many forms (UNICEF 2007). Of these, more than seven million are children with disabilities, while millions more acquire disabilities during childhood as a result of the disaster. Subsequently, the literature on the disaster has identified children as a vulnerable group, but their diverse needs, experiences, perspectives, and potential roles in disaster risk reduction (DRR) have been largely overlooked or ignored by researchers and policymakers. Researchers argue that the perspectives of children and their capacities to inform decision-making processes, take direct action, and reduce risk have been neglected due to their status and skewed power relations between children and adults in society. In the absence of routine policies and procedures, students with disabilities may be placed at risk of ill‐advised evacuation efforts or neglected during severe emergencies. Some studies' results indicate that insufficient consideration has been given to disaster preparedness planning and management with respect to meeting the needs of vulnerable students with disabilities. The findings suggest that disaster preparedness is underresourced and possibly neglected.