Financial Resilience as an Integral Part of Disaster Management An Essential for Protecting the Poor & Vulnerable

Kurukshetra, A Journal of Rural Development, Vol. 61, No. 12, Special issue, October 2013

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Abstract

The focus of this article is on a suitable financial resilience strategy to prevent a negative impact on the local, state or even national economy and consequently on citizens when a disaster strikes. The disaster poverty spiral is well documented. Thus, unless a nation prepares for them, disasters can seriously harm the economy and the worst impact is experienced by those who are already poor and vulnerable and who lack the coping capacity to manage in the face of loss of assets and livelihoods. This includes rural and urban poor, women, children, the aged and the disabled in particular. Further, major disasters may cause long term setbacks to overall development through loss of infrastructure, lives and livelihoods forcing diversion of funds from developmental activities towards relief and reconstruction. This implies a further indirect negative impact on vulnerable populations whether viewed from the ‘trickle-down of growth’ point of view or from the angle of availability of funds for direct state interventions towards poverty alleviation.