Disaster management

The way humanitarian aid workers are perceived has recently attracted increased attention, mainly because of the emergence of new elements in crisis contexts that challenge the very foundations of humanitarian action, and of growing difficulties in accessing populations in conflict zones. Different studies have sought to understand the mechanisms that determine the perception of humanitarian action. The aim of this work is to develop the debate on the role of humanitarian action in crisis c

Despite positive messages of democratisation and economic growth, sub-Saharan Africa remains afflicted by severe conflicts. The Middle and the Horn host the most widespread and intense of them. Resources and ethno-religious differences are often part of the equation, but the core problem rests with bad governance. Political elites use underlying frictions to fight regional wars, all too often fuelled by third-party resource grabs. Until regional dynamics are better understood and addressed throu

This latest CCR seminar report is based on a policy advisory group seminar held in Somerset West, South Africa, from 13 to 14 December 2011. The meeting took place as South Africa approached the end of the first year of its second two-year term [2011-2012] as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. The seminar focused on: South Africa's role on the UN Security Council; the relationship between the African Union [AU] and the UN Security Council; and the politics and reform of the Counc

The government has made good progress in implementing its 2007 strategy for internally displaced people (IDPs). Since 2008, it has made significant efforts in building and refurbishing housing, and set standards to guide the implementation process with the international community. This has improved the living conditions of many IDPs.This housing assistance has met several challenges, however. Some IDPs received substandard new or refurbished housing and are still waiting for property titles as a

This document provides an introduction to peace and, in particular, reintegration. These are approached both as abstract policy objectives and as very tangible processes and programmes such as the Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Programme (APRP). This report, which is the first in a four-part series, particularly emphasises reintegration given that peace talks involving the Afghan government, the United States, insurgent groups and others have received significant and sustained attention fro

The United Nations has declared that famine conditions in south-central Somalia no longer exist. But the ongoing conflict in the country, coupled with a precarious food situation, will keep large numbers of Somali refugees from voluntarily returning anytime soon – this despite the rising insecurity in refugee-hosting areas of Kenya and Ethiopia. This insecurity poses a serious threat to protection and services for refugees. However, it also provides an opportunity to shake-up the unsustainable w

This report provides best practices to address violence during and after disasters and challenges us, as disaster responders, to respond to this problem in all of our work through early and proactive action, using a public health approach.

This paper synthesises the findings from AREU's Legacies of Conflect research project from across the Bamiyan, Ghazni and Kabul research sites, in search of broadly acceptable approaches to address the legacies of conflict and support reconciliation in the country. It also examines the political context for transitional justice and reconciliation and considers which policies might need to be changed or adopted.

‘Resilience’ is an agenda shared by those concerned with financial, political, disaster, conflict and climate threats to development. The aim of resilience programming is, therefore, to ensure that shocks and stresses, whether individually or in combination, do not lead to a long-term downturn in development progress as measured by the Human Development Index (HDI), economic growth or other means.

Adopting resilience as our core approach to tackling disasters means identifying where different areas of our work can complement and enhance one another. This includes disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, social protection, working in fragile contexts and humanitarian preparedness and response. This Approach Paper is intended to inform the next phase of DFID’s work on resilience to both natural and man-made disasters,5 by providing a starting point for discussion within the Depar

This report takes stock of achievements made in 2010/2011 and provides momentum for meeting future demands. On the ground in 177 countries and territories worldwide, UNDP continues to assist governments in empowering their citizens through projects and programmes that make a difference in people's lives, allowing for informed choices, and building the groundwork towards more resilient nations. Going forward, UNDP will continue to work through its global networks to link ideas and best practice w

This edition of 'Jica's World Jan 2012: A very Turbulent Year' portrays the impact of natural disasters that occurred during 2011 across the world. While natural disasters captured many headlines, JICA continued its work in a myriad of other development projects across the globe.

In the last 10 years, over 500,000 people have lost their lives and around 1.5 billion people have been adversely affected due to rapid-onset natural hazards such as earthquakes, tsunami, floods and tropical storms. This briefing discusses the potential for science and technology to enhance resilience to such hazards in developing nations. “Resilience” to natural hazards refers to the ability to protect lives, livelihoods and infrastructure from destruction, and to the capability to restore area

Thousands of Rwandan refugees living in Uganda remain unwilling to return home, citing a fear of persecution, despite the UN Refugee Agency’s (UNHCR) invocation of a clause ending their refugee status. “[Since May 2009], no Rwandan refugee of any profile, either urban or rural, has expressed [a] willingness to return back home,” Manzi Mutuyimana, one of the refugees, told IRIN. “Conditions which could make [a] safe return with dignity [do not exist] in Rwanda.”

One year after the worst natural disaster in Japan’s history — the massive earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011 — Mercy Corps continues to work with our partner agencies, Peace Winds Japan and PlaNet Finance Japan, to help the Japanese people rebuild. Mercy Corps and Peace Winds provided relief supplies — tents, tarps, blankets, mattresses, space heaters, kerosene, medical masks, clothing, bottled water, diapers, toilet paper, school supplies and food — to 42,000 people living in shelters.Co

"El terremoto registrado en Haití en enero de 2010 podría marcar el inicio de un nuevo ciclo de actividad sísmica con “devastadores terremotos” que afectarán toda la isla de La Española, conformada por Haití y República Dominicana, dicen investigadores. "El estudio, publicado en la edición de febrero del Boletín de la Sociedad de Sismología de Estados Unidos (BSSA), analizó los registros de temblores ocurridos en la isla en los 500 años transcurridos desde la época colonial hasta 2010 y de los c

"Beyond Pandemics" outlines the human, economic and societal benefit of increasing collaboration, planning and dialogue across the entire societal architecture. It demonstrates how forming partnerships with non-traditional partners in public health issues including travel, animal health, private business, and civil-military response teams can help advance disaster preparedness.

Two years ago — on February 27, 2010 — a massive earthquake struck Chile, followed by a tsunami that devastated several coastal communities. Libraries and telecenters played an important and unexpected role in responding to the crisis, helping to restore communication and promote recovery. Yesterday, on the two year anniversary, a webinar was held (download presentation) with over 60 participants, led by María Angélica Celedón, Executive Director of the Assocacion de Telecentros A

Zunia interviewed Michael Clemens, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, who discuss different migration issues and the impact of migration on economic development.Zunia: In your paper “Migration as a Tool for Disaster Recovery: U.S. Policy Options in the Case of Haiti”, you mentioned of two specific problems the United States will face if they allow more disaster affected people to enter the country. One of them was “the inability of U.S. humanitarian relief efforts to re-

HIGHLIGHTSThe peace process between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberabon Front remains on track.Securing land for the construction of temporary shelters remains the biggest challenge for the Tropical Storm Washi response.Heavy rains flood tents in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. delaying the transfer of IDPs from evacuation centres to tented transitory sites.