Themes Archives - Page 18 of 19

Disasters cause substantial losses not only in lives but also in livelihoods. Chronic disasters cause the adverse impacts of these losses to accumulate by not allowing affected households to rebuild their livelihoods and recover. The accumulated negative impacts of recurring disasters on household livelihoods have long-term effects, reinforcing intergenerational transmission of poverty and pushing poor households further into greater vulnerability.

Years of work on reducing disaster risks among high-risk communities in the Philippines are bearing fruit in terms of saving lives. Equal attention must be given to saving livelihoods in order to achieve household and community resilience. This study documents the various experiences of households and communities that, sustaining serious losses particularly from the Bopha disaster in 2012 and Haiyan in 2013, have emerged successful in adopting strategies that would protect their livelihood assets and capacities from anticipated recurring disasters. From the lessons and good practices, in the context of

largely rural and agricultural communities, the strategies in achieving resilience in livelihoods are identified.

View and download the material here.

From a public health emergency of international concern to a pandemic, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 has continuously crossed intercontinental borders and has infected millions of people around the world. In four months, the United States has overtaken Europe as the pandemic’s epicenter. As of May 11, US has recorded the highest number of deaths at 76,916, followed by the United Kingdom at 31,855 and Italy at close 30,560. The global death toll has reached 280,000 while confirmed cases have surged to 4 million worldwide.

The pandemic has hit global north countries the worst despite their relatively functional healthcare systems and medical infrastructures. The United States confirmed the highest number of cases at 1.2 million followed by Spain (225,000), the Russian Federation (221,000), UK and Italy (219,000). Meanwhile, emerging, underdeveloped, and developing countries with dysfunctional healthcare systems have struggled to cope; analysts said the African continent is a ticking time bomb with its underfunded health programs and medical infrastructures. Governments around the world have sent millions of people into lockdowns and have forced tens of thousands of businesses and livelihoods to close indefinitely. The World Economic Forum projected that in the least developed countries, 900 million people are at risk from the COVID-19.

In the Philippines, just two months after Taal Volcano had spewed ashes in a phreatic eruption that paralyzed the Southern Tagalog Region, the authorities reported the first local transmission of COVID-19. President Rodrigo Duterte then imposed a 30-day Metro Manila lockdown, limiting travel in and out of the capital region until April 14. The rising number of cases and death toll resulted in a national state of calamity and an extended, enhanced community quarantine for high-risk areas until May 15, including the capital region. The government suspended all classes, mass transport systems, public gatherings, and other social activities to reduce transmission. The executive branches continued operations on skeleton staff and work-from-home arrangements; several sectors and other organizations followed suit. In March, the Senate passed the Republic Act 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, authorizing the president to have additional emergency powers and access to funding in dealing with the pandemic, including accreditation of testing kits and facilities, distribution of cash aid, and deployment of added military interventions, among others. Near mid-May, 726 Filipinos have died and 11,086 have tested positive.

As of now, there are only 11 accredited subnational laboratories for testing in the country. The government admitted that limited testing centers pose challenges in determining the actual number of cases. To address this, 60 more laboratories are yet to be accredited by the government, which targets 13,000 to 20,000 testing a day starting on April 27. The testing will prioritize suspect and probable cases of COVID- 19.

In recent weeks, resource-challenged hospitals and medical facilities have encountered many gaps and challenges in fighting the coronavirus. Death among healthcare professionals and the infected ones’ inability to function during a mandatory quarantine period aggravate the long-existing shortage of healthcare manpower in the country. The scarce supply of personal protective equipment and other logistical needs exacerbate the crisis. Saturated COVID-19 centers cannot cater to the increasing number of suspect and probable cases, resorting to home quarantines. In urban settings with relatively high population densities, physical distancing and isolation seem almost impossible. At the community levels, health workers struggle to monitor the conditions of suspect cases due to a lack of facilities for the mandated self-isolation procedures. Besides myths and disinformation, social stigma has also aggravated problems on early detection, monitoring, and treatment. Family members’ prejudice and discrimination towards their presumptive positive relatives also add a burden to the position of the latter.

Given the context of continuously rising cases and the immediate need to address the hospitals’ surge capacity, the Moving Urban Poor Communities Toward Resilience (MOVE UP) Project, with its success in piloting and replicating alternative temporary shelter (ATS) systems as an urban resilience strategy, aims to propose solutions that will help address current gaps in providing adequate facilities for self-isolation and quarantine. The ATS System, originally intended to address the lack of dignified space and shelters for internally displaced families affected by disasters, can serve as base models for designing Community Quarantine Facilities (CQFs). MOVE UP, together with its technical partner for shelter United Architects of the Philippines – Emergency Architects (UAP-EA), intends to present replicable models built on practical design criteria (robustness, affordability, scalability, range of application, and speed of construction) for local government units (LGUs) and communities that need facilities.

To see the full concept note, please download the file below.

View and download the material here.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a new coronavirus strain called SARS-CoV-2. The outbreak began in Wuhan, China in December of 2019. On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the COVIS-19 outbreak a pandemic.

Click the links below to view and download each corresponding situational report.

ACCORD COVID19 SitRep01 – 20200318

ACCORD COVID19 SitRep02 – 20200323

ACCORD COVID19 SitRep03 – 20200323

ACCORD COVID19 SitRep04 – 20200324

ACCORD COVID19 SitRep05 – 20200326

ACCORD COVID19 SitRep06 – 20200331

ACCORD COVID19 SitRep07 – 20200407

ACCORD COVID19 SitRep08 – 20200422

ACCORD COVID19 SitRep09 – 20200329

ACCORD COVID19 SitRep10 – 20200507

ACCORD COVID19 SitRep11 – 20200512

A tool developed in Vietnam, to help communities develop a shared vision of positive change, in relation to community-based adaptation (CBA) and watershed ecosystem management activities.

The visioning approach for CBA supports coordinated, equitable and relevant planning for communities. In other words, it helps to identify what needs to be changed in a community or watershed ecosystem as well as supporting the creation of a vision and a plan of how to reach the desired future.

The approach can be used for CBA watershed management planning, environmental planning for natural resource-dependent people and business development. These plans can, in turn, be integrated into the Socio-Economic Development Plans of communes, districts, and provinces.

View and download the tool here.

Originally posted on https://careclimatechange.org/

View and download IEC material here.

Climate change affects women and men differently. Unequal access to resources, rights, and opportunities between women and men means that they also experience the impacts of climate change and disasters in different and unequal ways. To ignore these inequalities is to ignore a key factor in the success or failure of our work. Women play an essential role in tackling the climate change challenge. They are demonstrating innovative ways to adapt to the effects of climate change and build resilient societies. Women are taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by leading initiatives that put forward new solutions to dealing with climate change. If we can address and transform gender inequalities through climate change and disaster risk reduction initiatives, then we not only promote the equal rights of women but also multiply the sustainable impact of climate-related activities.

Produced by CARE International in Vietnam, UN Women in Viet Nam and GIZ, ‘Making It Count’ offers practical questions, actions, tools and resources for integrating gender into climate change and disaster risk reduction interventions. It is designed to be an easily accessible entry point for practitioners and was created through several consultations with multiple stakeholders, including members of Vietnam’s Climate Change Working Group, and other experts with experience in climate change and gender. Whilst it is Vietnam focused, most elements can also be useful for both government and non-government actors around the world.

View and download the material here.

Originally posted on https://careclimatechange.org/

View and download the material here.

CARE’s most popular practitioner tool: Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis. A community-level tool that integrates climate change into a wider participatory vulnerability analysis.

By combining local knowledge with scientific data, the CVCA process builds people’s understanding about climate risks and adaptation strategies. It provides a framework for dialogue within communities, as well as between communities and other stakeholders (e.g. local and national government agencies). The results provide a solid foundation for the identification of practical strategies to facilitate community-based adaptation to climate change.