Felix-Affected Communities Get Sustainable Relief
WASHINGTON, Sep 14 (OneWorld) - On September 3, the 160-mile-per-hour winds of Hurricane Felix descended upon the North Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, devastating the region's rural communities and killing nearly 100 people. Aid organizations are now emphasizing that disasters such as this must be met with both immediate aid and sustainable redevelopment efforts, and a particular attention should be paid to the plight of women. In Nicaragua, the international aid organization Oxfam is preparing a two-phase response to help more than 30,000 people in the remote areas affected by last week's storm. First, the aid workers will focus on critical needs, such as clean water and sanitation; then they will begin to address longer-term issues, such as revitalizing a sustainable food supply. As the reconstruction phase begins in any disaster relief effort, particular attention should be paid to the plight of women, says the advocacy group Women's EDGE. When it seems that the disaster's worst has passed, the group explains, gender biases, which are especially prominent in the developing world, tend to exacerbate the suffering of afflicted women and the children and elderly they traditionally care for. For example, women frequently face a lack of employment opportunities as rebuilding infrastructure is prioritized after a disaster. As climate change causes global temperatures to rise, storms and other disasters of this magnitude are occurring more and more frequently. According to the women’s human rights association MADRE, which is raising money for local groups on the ground in Nicaragua, "only 31 Category Five storms have ever been recorded in the Atlantic -- eight of them in the last five seasons." OneWorld's Perspectives magazine reports on efforts to improve the way we prepare for and respond to emergency situations worldwide in its "Dealing with Disasters" edition. ....................................................................................
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