Youth EMERGENCY GUIDE

The Youth Emergency Guide is a resource co-developed by young people aged 13-25 in South Africa, in partnership with UNICEF and the South African Institute of International Affairs (Youth@SAIIA). It provides a framework for children and youth to identify risks, develop emergency plans, and build social resilience to better respond to and prevent disasters, specifically focusing on climate-related hazards, health crises, and civil unrest.

• The guide defines an emergency as a "serious, unexpected, and often dangerous situation that poses a threat or risk to health, life, property, or the environment" and focuses on three main types: climate and environment, conflict and unrest, and health crises.
• South Africa has a high frequency of flooding, with over 77 major floods recorded between 1980 and 2010. A specific catastrophic event in April 2022 in KwaZulu-Natal resulted in 448 deaths, including 57 school children, and the destruction of over 12,000 homes and 600 schools.
• The guide outlines a process for emergency preparedness that begins with risk identification, which involves assessing hazards (potential sources of damage), exposure (how one is exposed), and vulnerability (susceptibility to the hazard).
• A recommended 'Go-Bag' or emergency kit should provide self-sufficiency for at least 72 hours and include items such as 2 litres of water per person per day, non-perishable food, a first aid kit, and a copy of emergency contact lists.
• The document provides specific national emergency contact numbers for South Africa: 10111 for nationwide emergency response, 10177 for ambulances, and 112 for mobile phone emergencies.
• To combat the danger of 'fake news' during emergencies, the guide suggests a verification process: considering the source, finding supporting sources, checking the date, checking biases, checking facts, checking quality, and authenticating images and video.
• The guide emphasizes that youth can contribute to systemic change and emergency prevention by participating in decision-making processes, such as attending municipal meetings with ward councillors and commenting on policy documents like the South African Disaster Management Act.
• Social resilience is defined as the ability of a social system to "cope with, tolerate, respond to and recover from disasters," emphasizing the use of social connections and networks to manage emergency situations.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (n.d.). Youth EMERGENCY GUIDE. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/SAIIA-UNICEF-Emergency-Preparedness-Guide-Medium-Res-1.pdf

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Youth EMERGENCY GUIDE. n.d. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/SAIIA-UNICEF-Emergency-Preparedness-Guide-Medium-Res-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Youth EMERGENCY GUIDE |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/SAIIA-UNICEF-Emergency-Preparedness-Guide-Medium-Res-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairsndyouth, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Youth EMERGENCY GUIDE}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/SAIIA-UNICEF-Emergency-Preparedness-Guide-Medium-Res-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }