Identifying the vulnerable and helping them build resilience
Showcasing, demonstrating and launching a tool-kit
Disasters play an important role in preventing households from moving out of poverty and in pulling back into poverty households that were able to escape. Research exploring the link between poverty and disaster risk has helped inform policies to increasingly consider the vulnerable, in addition to the chronically poor. In several countries, this research has helped inform the development of adaptable social protection systems to prevent people from falling into poverty. However, a challenge has been to identify those that are most likely to suffer and least likely to recover from disasters, especially in data poor environments. With a better understanding of who and where the vulnerable are, and the benefit of protecting them, post-disaster responses can be designed and targeted to minimize the acute and long-term impacts of shocks. This session will provide an overview of research that contributes to the understanding of disaster risk and vulnerability to poverty, and the benefits of risk-informed development policies. Participants will learn about tools that have been applied in several countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia/Pacific, and South Asia regions to identify the vulnerable, inform ex-ante targeting criteria, and measure the benefits of post-disaster support, particularly adaptive social protection systems.
Organizer: World Bank