In March 2023, twin cyclones Judy and Kevin and an earthquake struck the South Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu impacting nearly all of the country’s inhabitants. According to the National Disaster Management Office, these events affected around 250,000 people, more than 80% of the population or 30,000 households in six provinces , including more than 58 000 children under 15. Over 100 out of the 288 schools in Vanuatu were damaged and the education of thousands of children had to be interrupted.

In October 2023, the ongoing rebuilding efforts were further affected by cyclone Lola, which severely impacted already fragile essential services and infrastructure, particularly the education sector. Mrs. Susan Nako, the school principal and teacher of Port Resolution primary school, explains: “Our classroom and learning materials were destroyed and our students were left without any support”.

Through the EIB Institute, the EIB donated €50 000 channelled through UNICEF, and used to help the children impacted by these natural disasters return to school as soon as possible. The donation contributed to the procurement and delivery of UNICEF tents that could be used as temporary classrooms, tarpaulins and school bags as well as school-in-a-box kits containing all the essentials needed to teach children in crisis areas.

Moreover, Early Childhood Development (ECD) kits were provided. These contain materials to meet the learning needs of children up to 8 years old during and after emergencies, such as toys, games and books. The supplies ensured that the impact on the children’s education was minimised and were provided in line with UNICEF’s larger efforts to build the resilience and capacity of the education sector in Vanuatu, in the face of recurring disasters and the ongoing impact of climate change.

Vanuatu is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, and is regularly affected by cyclones during the rainy season from November to April.

UNICEF said the following about “greatly appreciated EIB donation”: “Your timely investment contributed to the strengthening of climate resilience and to the provision of essential school supplies as well as temporary learning spaces, so that all students were able to sit their end of year exams as planned.”

The Institute regularly makes grants for purposes of disaster relief and donations of EIB decommissioned IT equipment.