Thousands of deaths in natural disasters in the developing world could be prevented each year if western governments put more emphasis on protecting vulnerable communities and preparing people to save their own lives, says a new report from Tearfund.
The report, Before Disaster Strikes (PDF document, 313K), reveals that western governments and other major international donors concentrate much of their efforts on emergency responses to crises rather than measures to prevent them. The report says it is ‘indefensible and illogical’ not to help poor communities prevent and prepare for disasters when very often, thousands of lives could be saved by even the simplest of measures. In Britain, other European nations and the US, millions of pounds are invested into reducing the risks associated floods, droughts and earthquakes, yet we spend very little on helping poor communities do the same.
“There must be new thinking about how we do aid work,” states Sarah La Trobe, Tearfund Policy Officer for Environments and Disasters and the report’s author. “Focusing primarily on emergency responses like air drops of food and pulling people from the rubble is no longer enough. Disasters can be prevented and people can be equipped to save their own lives.”
The report, Before Disaster Strikes, warns that natural disasters - like the earthquake in Bam, Iran in which at least 25,000 people died in December 2003 and the floods which brought widespread devastation to Mozambique four years ago this month - are on the increase. This is due to factors such as climate change, rapid urbanisation, poor land use and environmental destruction
- 98% of people killed by natural disasters now come from developing countries
- By 2025 more than half the people living in the developing world will be highly vulnerable to floods and storms
The report from Tearfund, one of the UK’s largest relief and development agencies, argues that while some disasters can be prevented, others can at the very least be prepared for, meaning that thousands of lives could be saved each year and millions of pounds of aid money made to go further. Examples of simple and inexpensive measures that can save lives, include:
- Cyclone shelters and early warning systems, which in the Bay of Bengal are protecting communities from major cyclones
- In Bihar, India, which is affected by yearly flooding, Tearfund partners have helped villagers build escape routes and ensure early warning systems are in place
- In Honduras Tearfund partners are helping poor communities vulnerable to flooding relocate homes to higher ground, build specially-designed swing bridges and plant trees to prevent mudslides
Says Andy Atkins, Advocacy Director at Tearfund: ‘There was a time when we did not know where disasters would strike. But today we know which countries are most disaster-prone. Flooding in Bangladesh and drought in Ethiopia is hardly a surprise.
‘In the west we invest millions of pounds on flood defences and buildings that can withstand earthquakes. For example, there was minimal loss of life when Hurricane Isabel battered the east coast of America in September 2003 and only three people died in the Californian earthquake three months later. Yet we spend very little of our international aid budgets on helping poor communities do the same. This must now change.’
Research carried out by Tearfund among major donors, including the United Nations, the European Union and the governments of Britain, the United States and Canada, shows that there is general agreement that preventing disasters makes economic and moral sense. But governments’ approaches are still weighted towards ‘bandaging wounds’ rather than ‘preventing injuries’.
Tearfund found three main reasons why governments’ spending on reducing the risks of disaster is low:
- Lack of Understanding: Many working in the development sector of government lack an understanding of the relevance of reducing the risk of disasters to their work.
- Lack of Ownership: development and relief professionals in governments often see the job of reducing the risk of disasters as primarily the responsibility of the other discipline.
- Competition: the sheer pressure of responding to other international aid needs such as HIV/Aids and conflict means that time and money are stretched.
Tearfund’s report argues that, with disasters increasing in number, long-term development in poor countries is being seriously threatened.
‘There is now an urgent moral and financial imperative for governments and financial institutions to adopt new thinking and action about aid budgets and programmes,’ says Sarah La Trobe. ‘Money and expertise must be urgently directed into reducing the risks of disasters in order to help the world’s most vulnerable communities safeguard their lives and their way out of poverty.’