Disasters最新文献

This article explores partnering over and across time in refugee response situations where stakeholders, needs, beneficiaries, and the nature of the crisis change. It is based on interviews and fieldwork in various European settings from the 1990s to 2023. All of that work targeted different research questions related to the coordination of refugee assistance. For this study, all of these interviews were recoded with a focus on change over time. The findings indicate that the coordination of refugee assistance entails the significant aspect of ‘handing off’, as one set of stakeholders cedes its efforts to the next. Duties and responses flow from informal, unorganised volunteers, to local emergency relief players and international non-governmental organisations, and eventually to longer-term local, municipal, or state entities. The article presents an important dimension of cross-sectoral coordination, but not at a single point in time, or multiple points of interaction, suggesting a general flow from one set of players to the next.

The impact of funding cuts on refugees and displaced communities is being framed as a crisis of resources. But this moment is better understood as a crisis of legitimacy. The current model excludes affected communities from decision-making and is structurally flawed, prioritising donor agendas over the needs of refugees. Aid systems are being questioned by donors and affected communities because they are unaccountable. Despite frameworks for accountability, the entrenched hierarchy within the aid system reinforces colonial and racial biases and focuses on risk-averse approaches that cannot produce transformative change. This is an opportunity to overhaul the humanitarian system that never fully served refugees in the first place and is predicated on participatory budgeting, local community oversight, and direct funding to refugee-led organisations.

Puerto Rico is increasingly vulnerable to natural hazards that exacerbate ongoing humanitarian and economic crises. Historically, local and federal recovery efforts have been slow and inadequate, leaving community members as first responders post disaster. Community-based disaster preparedness can reduce vulnerability and improve disaster management strategies, yet there is an absence of implementation tools appropriate for grassroots organisations. This article introduces the Disaster Response Mobilization System (DRMS) co-developed with seven grassroots organisations in Puerto Rico from 2021–24 and discusses one piloted implementation in detail. The DRMS supports community-driven disaster management capacities by assessing household preparedness, mapping household assets and vulnerabilities, mobilising community resources, and expediting external assistance following a disaster. We reflect on its value and limitations, demonstrate pathways for scaling up and adaptation in other settings, and contend that it can be an effective strategy to advance internal and external response before and after disasters while encouraging collaboration and the building of climate resilience.

The recent US foreign assistance cuts represent not only a funding crisis but also a reckoning for the humanitarian and development sectors. This moment must catalyse a shift towards South–South cooperation, partnership and funding ecosystems that are not beholden to the strategic fluctuations of traditional donors. Global North institutions continue to marginalise the knowledge, leadership and capacities of Global South communities; thus, aid needs to be reshaped as solidarity, not charity. This paradigm shift would place communities, civil society and local governments at the centre of decision-making, reclaiming power, dignity and autonomy by local and displaced actors. To make this transition effective, national and local communities and actors must invest in capacity strengthening, inclusive governance models and equitable partnerships. Embracing these practices will not only increase the sustainability of interventions but also uphold the dignity and leadership of those at the frontlines of crisis and humanitarian action. In addition, it is imperative to reform existing aid architectures to reflect new geopolitical and environmental realities.

This paper examines the barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services for refugees in Lebanon, focusing on Syrian, Palestinian, Iraqi, and Sudanese communities. Amidst Lebanon's socioeconomic crisis, the study highlights how legal restrictions, cultural norms, and discrimination limit SRHR access by these marginalised groups. Stringent admission criteria, high residency permit costs, and the cessation of refugee registration severely restrict refugees' mobility and access to essential services. Societal taboos around sex and intimacy further stigmatise and discriminate against refugees, particularly those with intersecting identities like gender, sexuality, race, and disability. We argue that SRHR acts as a key vector for restricting and conditioning the lives of crisis-affected people. The findings emphasise the need for humanitarian organisations to support legal reforms, cultural competency training, inclusive sexuality education, and better coordination of efforts. Addressing these systemic issues can improve SRHR outcomes for Lebanon's most vulnerable populations, promoting dignity and human rights for all.

Humanitarian reform has regained urgency in 2025 amid funding shortfalls, rising global needs, and a deepening crisis of legitimacy. Unlike past efforts, today's reform imperative – shaped by geo-political shifts and a retreat of traditional Western support - is both structural and existential. It demands a move away from a top-down and institution-centric model to a networked humanitarian ecosystem — one that shares responsibility more equitably, mobilises a broad range of responders, empowers local actors, and focuses squarely on achieving better outcomes for affected populations.

This shift requires a review of traditional roles and responsibilities and new tools to measure impact, along with revised accountability mechanisms. This crucial political moment presents a rare opportunity to reimagine global solidarity - decentralising power, embracing geopolitical change, and putting people and communities at the centre.

In recent years, there has been renewed global concern about the risk of famine, prompting calls for a greater focus on prevention. Yet, for preventive efforts to be successful, it is critical to understand what causes these extreme crises. While numerous theories have been put forward, they often offer only a partial view. This article attempts to take a step towards a more comprehensive approach by arguing for the importance of understanding both how and why famines occur. Expanding and integrating the famine systems model and priority regimes approach, the article applies the proposed framework to several contemporary and historical case studies and highlights the new insights that can be gained by looking at both aspects together. While recognising the genuine challenges involved, it suggests that a combined framework could help us better understand causation, identify who or what is responsible, and contribute to the prevention of famines in the future.

Faith and faith communities play a critical role in post-disaster recovery for at least three reasons. First, faith is a socially shared frame through which individuals understand a disaster and evaluate potential means of recovery. Second, faith is a driver or motivator of post-disaster recovery, providing inspiration, encouragement, and solace. Third, faith communities foster social capital, aiding the re-establishment and rebuilding of devastated areas. We examine the role of faith and faith communities in the recovery of The Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian struck in 2019—the most powerful and costliest storm to hit this Caribbean country. Relying on qualitative evidence from interviews with survivors and faith leaders, we explore how faith helped affected individuals discover opportunities for engaging in recovery and fostered an optimistic attitude about the ability to recover. Additionally, members of faith-based communities leveraged their social connections to obtain the goods and services they needed to recover from the disaster.

The global refugee crisis places significant pressure on host communities, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Social cohesion and trust between refugee and host communities are critical for maternal health service utilisation. This study explores the relationship between host–refugee trust, social cohesion, and maternal health service use in Bangladesh and Kenya, focusing on facility-based delivery, antenatal care visits, and postnatal care attendance. To do so, a cross-sectional survey was administered among 649 refugee/displaced women and 371 host community women in the two locations. The results show high trust levels in both groups, while social cohesion is greater among refugee/displaced women. A higher social cohesion score is significantly associated with increased odds of attending four or more PNC appointments (adjusted odds ratio: 1.03; 95 per cent confidence interval: 1.01–1.05). Strengthening social cohesion may enhance maternal health service utilisation, especially postnatal care, in refugee-hosting settings, underlining the need for interventions fostering community bonds.

Limited research has been conducted to date on how disaster colonialism shapes, maintains, or destroys social organisations and relationships within indigenous societies. This study was conducted within the Hot Spring Tribal Community (HSTC) of the Rukai people, one of 16 indigenous groups in Taiwan, in the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot in 2009. Based on ethnographic research, the study reveals that the HSTC had endured more than a century of colonialism, resulting in an ‘unnatural’ disaster long before the storm struck the island. The impact of colonial forces intensified through a variety of post-disaster intervention strategies, spawning numerous power struggles within the modern organisations of the HSTC. This study supports the theory of disaster colonialism, which refers to the perpetuation and amplification of power conflicts through so-called natural and unnatural disasters. It also demonstrates how government intervention strategies have continued both to marginalise and exploit indigenous people via existing settler structures.