Delivering Safe Schools through an all-hazards approach

In November 2025, Nairobi will host the Fifth International Conference on the Safe Schools Declaration (SSD). The SSD has been a landmark commitment to protect education from attack, affirming the centrality of schools and universities as spaces of learning and safety even in times of war. Yet, while the SSD focuses primarily on armed conflict and attacks on education, sadly schools today face a broader spectrum of threats. Climate-induced hazards, public health crises, and other natural and human-made disasters are increasingly disrupting education, compounding the risks faced by children, adolescents, and educators.

Between 2022 and 2023, the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) documented nearly 6,000 reported attacks on education or military use of schools and universities across 28 countries, directly harming more than 10,000 students and teachers. At the same time, UNICEF’s Children’s Climate Risk Index shows that over two-thirds of conflict-affected countries experiencing attacks on education are also among those at highest risk from climate and environmental hazards. This convergence of risks undermines the capacity of education systems to absorb shocks and ensure continuity of learning.

Communities themselves increasingly look to schools as anchors of resilience, providing safe spaces for children and adolescents and serving as hubs for wider community preparedness. But for schools to fulfil this role, they must be both protected and have the support to be better prepared. This requires an all-hazards approach, ensuring that conflict, violence, climate change, health emergencies, and other risks are addressed together within education planning and practice.

The Comprehensive School Safety Framework (CSSF) provides such a roadmap. Rooted in evidence and designed to foster intersectional coordination, the CSSF enables governments to integrate risk reduction across policies, infrastructure, and education systems. It emphasizes that only by considering the full spectrum of risks can we ensure that schools remain open, safe, and inclusive even in the midst of a crisis.

The Delivering Safe Schools through an all-hazards approach workshop will provide a critical space for governments, practitioners, and partners to reflect on lessons learned, share evidence, and identify pathways for linking SSD implementation with the CSSF. By anchoring the SSD within an all-hazards framework, this workshop will help ensure that protecting education from attack is not pursued in isolation, but as part of a broader commitment to safe, resilient, and inclusive learning environments for all.