Pathways to Inclusion in Disaster Risk Management

It is important to understand and plan for the barriers that marginalized communities face before, during, and after disaster situations. DRM practitioners need effective strategies to assess gaps and challenges to inclusion throughout the DRM cycle. This webinar will serve as a basic overview of who are at risk of being excluded and what inclusive DRM entails, and how to identify entry points to ensure that the needs of all citizens are taken into account.

In particular, the webinar will focus on persons with disabilities. One billion people - 15% of the world’s population - live with some form of disability. Persons with disabilities face unique constraints and challenges at each stage of DRM and face a disproportionately higher risk of being left behind during disasters and emergencies. Lack of accessible evacuation and sheltering facilities, challenges in accessing information, loss of necessary aids and medical equipment, and disruptions in critical service delivery chains are just some of the obstacles that can significant ramifications for the survival and welfare of persons with disabilities. Similar barriers also affect children and the elderly.

In this webinar, presenter Margaret Arnold, Senior Social Development Specialist, and host of this webinar Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo, Global Disability Advisor, will jointly discuss:

What are the social dimensions of DRM? How disasters affect excluded populations differently?

How to identify and work on entry points for inclusive DRM?

What are the most significant challenges that excluded populations, such as persons with disabilities, face in disaster situations?

Effective practices and case studies on disability-inclusive DRM.