WUNRN
EMERGENCIES & DISASTERS:
ADDRESSING THE INFORMATION & CULTURAL GAPS BETWEEN AID
PROVIDERS & RECIPIENTS OF THEIR
ASSISTANCE - KEY ROLE OF GRASSROOTS WOMEN
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GRASSROOTS WOMEN have proven that
they are key to community resilience in disasters. They and their organizations
are often proficient in adapting to changing social and natural environments,
organizing collectively to address problems, drawing on traditional knowledge,
and improving skills to face difficulties. There are critical linkages
between disasters, development, poverty, and gender-based inequality. Formal
disaster management is typically top-down, centrally controlled, and male
dominated, and frequently overlooks or ignores existing social networks
that are often led by and include women.
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Direct Link to Full 134-Page IOM
2014 Publication:
While focusing on communications activities during an emergency and early recovery stages, this publication looks at ways to redress the information gap between the ever-growing number of aid providers and that of the recipients of their assistance. The authors make the case that when crisis or disaster strikes, communities are not only in need of material assistance – medical assistance, shelter, food and water – but also of information to make independent, informed decisions that ensure their safety and survival.
