Disaster and Development: Examining Global Issues and Cases

Abstract

Women are essential to disaster risk reduction efforts, but their knowledge and opinions are not systematically leveraged as an asset to improving community resiliency. Using focus group data gathered from residents of several highly vulnerable migrant settlements in Ghana, we present the current roles played by women in disaster resiliency efforts, the limits of their enfranchisement in the emergency management process, and the opportunities for the integration of a gender oriented approach to enhancing disaster resiliency among highly vulnerable populations. Lessons learned from the settlement populations in Ghana include the recognition that local residents perceive their community, or “the people,” as the greatest asset in the context of disaster. This recognition allows for personal networks to be leveraged, in locally relevant ways, for the purpose of enhancing communication, disseminating information, and leadership building. Local women, with their superior organization networks, represent an under-utilized resource for enhancing resiliency and community development.