In 2021, assessments of over 6,000 school buildings across Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu found that between 50 to 90% of buildings may not withstand a strong cyclone or earthquake. Common issues identified include poorly maintained, corroded, and insufficient roof strapping, inadequate steel reinforcement and the use of unwashed beach sand in construction. In addition, methods for storing information on buildings and assets, as well as the irregularity of infrastructure assessments have hindered efforts to prioritise maintenance, retrofitting and new construction.The Pacific Safer Schools Program is helping overcome some of these challenges. Through user-friendly, risk informed asset registers, the program is supporting governments to prioritize resilient school infrastructure investments to make the most of the limited resources available; particularly given school infrastructure makes up a significant proportion of government-funded infrastructure. As part of the Global Program for Safer Schools, the World Bank Pacific Safer Schools Program is supported through the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery. Technical Assistance to this program has been provided by Risk, Engineering and Development.
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