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.
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Notes
- 1.
International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) was established by the United Nations in 1989, and as of 2009, October 13th of each year is recognized across the international community as a day to promote a global culture of disaster reduction. United Nations Resolution 44/236 signed December 22, 1989 and United Nations Resolution 64/220 signed December 21, 2009. See http://www.un.org/en/documents/ for access to copies of U.N. Resolutions.
- 2.
The Volta Basin Authority (VBA) was established in 2007 to coordinate water management policies for the six countries of the Volta River Basin (Ghana, Burkina Faso, Togo, Mali, Benin and Côte d’Ivoire). The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), believing that there might be future conflicts in the region over the sharing of water resources, initiated the formation of the VBA (Ghanaweb 2007). For years, the 400 000 km2 Volta Basin had been one of the few trans-boundary basins in Africa which had no formal agreement in place for cross-border cooperation and management. Ghana and Burkina Faso together use 85 % of the basin’s water.
- 3.
Focus group conversations with key female and male stakeholders concerning disaster resiliency were facilitated by Ms. Jane Amerley Oku, a well-respected Sabon Zongo community leader (and resident) and former elected member of the Accra District Assembly.
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Caruson, K., Alhassan, O., Ayivor, J., Ersing, R. (2014). Disaster and Development in Ghana: Improving Disaster Resiliency at the Local Level. In: Kapucu, N., Liou, K. (eds) Disaster and Development. Environmental Hazards. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04468-2_16
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