Cabo Verde: Integrating disaster risk and climate change considerations into school infrastructure investments

Context and Objectives

In Cabo Verde, school infrastructure is exposed to a range of adverse natural events putting children at risk of being affected in the case of a natural disaster. Between 2016 and 2018, the Ministry of Education prepared the first National Plan for the Rehabilitation and Extension of School Infrastructure. The main objective of the plan was to present in a strategic way the needs and programs to rehabilitate, strengthen and expand school infrastructure in the country by 2021.

In this context, the ACP-EU NDRR Program implemented a project aimed at strengthening the planning capacity of the Ministry of Education to ensure the quality of interventions to school infrastructure, in order to reduce exposure to natural hazards. Taking this objective into account, this technical assistance reinforced not only intervention and implementation strategies, but also prioritized criteria for the National Plan for the Rehabilitation and Extension of School Infrastructure.

Main activities and results

The following activities were implemented under the project:

• Updating of existing information on school infrastructure at national level;
• Identifying schools exposed to different natural and climate hazards, taking into account existing disaster and climate risk information;
• Identifying new priority interventions;
• Conducting a diagnostic of the construction technologies applied in Cabo Verde’s schools and of relevant technical regulations; and
• Capacity building to monitor the implementation of interventions in schools.

Technical assistance reinforced the intervention and implementation strategies and prioritization criteria of the National Plan for the Rehabilitation and Extension of School Infrastructure, which is aimed at rehabilitating, strengthening and expanding school infrastructure in the country by 2021. Existing information on school infrastructure was collected at the national level, and included a  national database of school infrastructure from the Ministry of Education.

Based on this information, an identification of structural typologies was developed, prompting the Ministry of Education to work on the improvement of their databases and strengthening of their Education Management Information System. Schools exposed to natural hazards were also identified with the available information on school infrastructure and hazard information. In addition, a diagnostic of the financial environment was expanded to support the preparation of the Ministry of Education’s implementation strategy, and to identify financing partners and opportunities to improve current and future investment plans in this sector.

Partnerships and Coordination

The project was implemented by the World Bank in coordination with the Education Global Practice, the Ministry of Education, the National Institute for Land Management, the University of Cabo Verde, the Ministry of Infrastructure, Territorial Planning and Housing, and the Ministry of Finance.