The Meaning of Health Security for Disaster Resilience in Bangladesh
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Material Information

Title:
The Meaning of Health Security for Disaster Resilience in Bangladesh Full Research Report
Creator:
Collins, Andrew
Disaster Risk Reduction Program, Florida International University (DRR/FIU) ( summary contributor )
Publisher:
ESRC
Publication Date:
Copyright Date:
2009
Language:
English

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
Health ( lcshac )
Risk management ( lcshac )
Genre:
non-fiction ( marcgt )
Spatial Coverage:
Asia -- Bangladesh

Notes

Summary:
While disaster risk reduction (DRR) is increasingly being mainstreamed into the broader agenda of sustainable development, one component that the author believes is conspicuously missing is the role of health security. Collins believes that the concept of health security needs an analytical re-focus, one that centers on the disaster resilience rationale. This document addresses the lack of research on the topic by analyzing how health mitigates disaster in Bangladesh. The author begins by addressing the fact that disaster resilience is almost exclusively understood in terms of stronger infrastructures, more prepared communities, and the development of early warning systems, while little regard is paid to the role that health plays in the process. Collins defines health security as a community’s resilience to physical and mental stresses or shocks. In the context of DRR, it means a community is not likely to be plagued by sickness before, during, or after a disaster. Though the research partly involves the consultation of datasets, it is particularly rooted in in-depth field investigations in Bangladesh because the author believes that a comprehensive understanding of health security as a constituent part of disaster resilience involves a localized approach based on the concept of complex health ecologies. The document seeks to move away from an understanding of health security that is exclusively global, which often diverges from what it means to the lived realities of people at the local level. The research objectives were to determine how health security relates to vulnerability and resilience to disasters; discover whether or not health security monitoring can facilitate early warning and preparedness; and determine which approaches to health security are best for mitigating the impact of disaster events. The author finds that health security is not simply a matter of access to good but inexpensive healthcare, but also developing the agency of households to acknowledge their own insecurities and seek some redress by exploiting the finite resources at their disposal. This means developing the ability to accumulate knowledge about risks and options, and to act prior to disaster. In determining whether ‘self-care,’ the action households take to stay healthy based on their limited knowledge and access to information, was adequate to establish broad based health security, research found significant limitations in communities where poor households were constrained by the sheer struggle to survive. In such cases, active government policy needs to be established to enhance capabilities at the local level. ( English )
Subject:
Health and Disasters ( English )
Citation/Reference:
Collins, A., et al (2009). The meaning of health security for disaster resilience in Bangladesh: full research report. UK Department for International Development (DFID).

Record Information

Source Institution:
Florida International University
Rights Management:
Refer to main document/publisher for use rights.
Resource Identifier:
FI13042194

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Aggregations:
Disaster Risk Reduction