A two-day State-Level Consultative Workshop for developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on Flood and Extreme Heat is being organized by the Department of Women and Child Development (WCD), Government of Assam, in collaboration with the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) and UNICEF from Thursday. The workshop, being held in Guwahati, marks a critical step towards institutionalizing child and gender-responsive disaster preparedness in Assam, in alignment with the Assam DRR Roadmap 2030. Senior government officials, domain experts, academicians, development partners and field practitioners are attending the workshop to review and strengthen existing SOPs on floods and to draft a dedicated SOP on extreme heat for the WCD. The process is anchored in evidence and field realities, focusing on safeguarding women and children, strengthening Anganwadi Centers, and integrating anticipatory and climate-informed actions within departmental systems.
Delivering the keynote address on the inaugural day, Mukesh Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary, Women and Child Development, Assam highlighted the urgency of reinvigorating the existing approach to preparing for responding to and recovering from floods from the overall functional scope of Anganwadi Centre’s including addressing emerging concerns from extreme heat. Sahu urged participants to deliberate extensively to improve SoPs for making them user centric, useful and build on the current and possible risk scenarios. Gauri Shankar Sarma, Director, Directorate of Women and Child Development, highlighted the role of WCD institutions, particularly Anganwadi Centre’s, as the first line of support for communities during crises. The consultation reflects the Government of Assam’s commitment to mainstream disaster risk reduction within social sector governance and to ensure that no woman or child is left behind during emergencies. Madhulika Jonathan, Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Assam and Northeast, emphasized the importance of child-centric and gender-responsive disaster preparedness in a changing climate.
Reaffirming UNICEF’s partnership, she noted that the initiative would strengthen systems to protect vulnerable groups during floods and extreme heat events. The workshop features expert sessions on flood dynamics in Assam, climate projections, nutrition and food security, resilient infrastructure for Anganwadi Centers and childcare institutions, and the impact of extreme heat on early childhood development, followed by structured group work to draft and refine the SOPs. Officials say that the outcomes will directly inform state policy and operational protocols for disaster preparedness and response within the WCD system.