Addressing Urban Risk Reduction For Women and Vulnerable Groups ‘The role of Women in Humanitarian Disasters – challenges for Norwegian Policy” UN-HABITAT UN-HABITAT

 Urban Risk: ‘Vulnerability to disasters due to location of settlements’ –Often in an urban setting ‘natural disasters are anything but natural’  Urban Vulnerability: ‘Level of Vulnerability to risk’ –degree of exposure of people, infrastructure and economic activities to a physical event or hazard Urban Risk and Vulnerability

Unfortunately… Reality shows that poor and vulnerable groups are most risk- due to substandard housing and construction practices, lack of infrastructure, secure tenure.

Women and Vulnerable Groups 1. Poverty reduces choice- poor often live in marginal disaster prone areas 2. Poor, women, children, the elderly and disabled are often the most vulnerable and affected the worst as they tend to have less access to services and alternative coping mechanisms 3. Unplanned urbanization- contributes to vulnerability of communities, particularly women to disasters. For instance in 2001 SSA had 71,9% of its population living in slums.

 Disaster risk reduction is about tackling the fundamental elements of disaster risk  Reducing vulnerability is about understanding and addressing underlying process of impoverishment Disaster risk and vulnerability reduction

Opportunities for Risk Reduction Women and Vulnerable groups  Pre disaster: reduce vulnerability (livelihood, equal access to information, mainstream gender into ongoing research)  Post Disaster: Build their capacities to manage risk (mainstream gender in relief and reconstruction activities)

Sadly… Both national and international priorities for disaster risk reduction tend to be low only until a disaster happens. However there are opportunities to overcome this…

Hyogo Framework for Action  World Conference on disaster reduction (19-22 January 2005, Kobe, Hyogo Japan)  3 goals –More effective integration of disaster risk consideration into sustainable development policies –Building capacities of institutions –Systematic incorporation of risk reduction into design and implementation of disaster management  Comprehensive integration of gender.  But reporting status shows there is still a long way to go…

Policy Implications for Norway  Forefront on fronting the Hyogo framework in all its development cooperation framework  In Humanitarian relief emphasis on ‘building back better’ in line with UN-Habitat SR&R approach;  Mainstream gender within humanitarian and development cooperation, including early warming, indicator development  Focus on urban vulnerabilities for women, such as lack of secure tenure and economic opportunities  Ensure coordination in the UN system on gender mainstreaming