DHAKA TRIBUNE
Round Table
7
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction October 13 of 2014 marked the Disaster Risk Reduction Day; the Department of Disaster Management, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief and Centre for Disability in Development jointly organised a round-table discussion with the support of BMZ, Malteser International and DiDRRN to highlight the concerns of the elderly and the persons with disabilities in disaster risk reduction programme
NASHIRUL ISLAM
n Tribune Desk Md Ataur Rahman
This year’s emphasis is on the elderly and their needs during a disaster. Some of the needs of an elderly person and those of a person with disability are often similar in a number of ways. We would love to see a disaster management system which addresses the needs of everyone including women, children, the persons with disabilities and the elderly.
AHM Noman Khan
created a team and had discussed on flood preparedness measures at length. When the flood hit we utilised CDD’s accessible boat to rescue people. The rescued were allocated into a school building and my own house, but we soon ran out of food. I started calling elected representatives and government officials for support. Finally and rather desperately, I spoke to the District Commissioner and at about 11pm, food arrived. A number of people would have definitely starved to death if food had not arrived when it did. Prior to training in these matters, I was not fully aware of my rights and flood preparedness. I have now come to a point where I’m not all that concerned in taking as much as giving and raising awareness in the community.
fact the true definition of resilience. The wealth of wisdom acquired over decades by the elders of our society is irreplaceable and we must utilise this wealth fully. UNCRPD did not add any new rights for the persons with disabilities it only removed restrictions faced by the persons with disabilities from exercising their rights. Article 11 of the UNCRPD calls States Parties to take all necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including situations of armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of natural disasters. Bangladesh has ratified the CRPD, we must now ensure that concerns of persons with disabilities are considered in DRR.
Dr Muzharul Mannan
Sonya Syafitri
Bangladesh is recognised globally for its success on disaster management. During cyclone Aila and SIDR, we could significantly minimise the loss of lives due to our improved risk management skills. We must now think of the elderly and the persons with disabilities throughout the disaster management cycle. During a disaster, these people face the full brunt because they are often less prepared than others and the environment is not conducive. As an organisation, we started focusing on the inclusion of persons with disabilities during the late 90s, and we have worked with (I)NGOs and the government on many common agendas. We are happy to receive a positive response from the MoDMR including the DDM on disability-inclusion. We look forward to a Disaster Risk Reduction framework which is inclusive of the needs of the persons with disabilities and the elderly.
Disaster risk reduction is all the more important for our country because it faces disaster on an annual basis. With a little thought, elaboration and execution, we can minimise a lot of barriers faced by persons with disabilities in a disaster situation. We must remember that the needs of persons with disabilities depend to a large extent on their disability. The needs of autistic people during disaster situation could well differ from others. It is hence imperative that we consider all disability groups including autistic people for a well integrated disaster management process.
Md Mostafizur Rahman
Md Saidul Huq
We don’t always need a lot of monetary resources to ensure the inclusion of the elders and persons with disabilities in DRR. We can get a lot done by simple actions. Something as simple as an inclusive early warning mechanism can bring down a significant number of casualties. The elders hold much knowledge of their environment; we should take feedback from them and incorporate their opinions while planning inclusive DRR. We mustn’t forget that elders and persons with disabilities can make valuable contributions.
It’s not sufficient that we open our eyes to the horrors that disasters bring upon the most vulnerable; we must open our minds to them so that we become truly inclined to do something about mitigating those circumstances. The UNCRPD has taken a definite stand for considering persons with disabilities in humanitarian crisis. Our government has not only ratified it but also passed the Rights and Protection of Persons with Disability Act 2013. Now the responsibility rests on our shoulders that we ensure its implementation.
Badhshah Miyah
Dr Nafeesur Rahman
Prior to a disaster, CDD had provided us with training in disability inclusive disaster risk management. We had
The way we face annual disasters, rebuild in the aftermath and know that the next year will be no different is in
Bangladesh has come a long way in managing disaster. But when we are broaching the subject of an integrated system, we need a far more collaborative approach. Individually and separately we are all doing a lot, but we feel that if we can bring all our efforts under one umbrella, a lot of obstacles will be automatically overcome and we will be well on our way to a truly integrated risk reduction system.
Dr Mahbuba Nasrin
When dealing with knowledge it’s always sensible to reach out to the ones with experience. When we study a flood prone region’s local history we discover when and with what warning signs floods have occurred there in the past. But it’s secondary to firsthand experience. The UN first focused on the elderly in 1991 with a policy and a slogan which said, “Towards a society for all ages.” After all these years why do we find ourselves making a full circle back here again? This is precisely because we are not accustomed to investing thought about the elders in our society. The more complex society becomes the less we care about the older generation. We can approach it with three phrases in mind, “in need, invisible and invaluable.” If we can discuss this with principles, without discrimination and set minimum standards, if we can make
the most of the storehouse of knowledge and insight carried by the elders, we can begin moving towards a truly integrated system in disaster management.
active in risk prone areas. All that is left is to make it inclusive of the needs of the elderly and the persons with disabilities.
Muhammad Saidur Rahman
If we take a look at the global timeline of DRR, we will notice that we are at a critical stage; HFA2 will be finalised in 2015. When HFA was initiated in 2005, unfortunately disability was not included in its fold. The inclusion of disability in the HFA2 framework is crucial, because once it is included on a policy level, resource allocation will take place which will in turn make way for implementation and practice. As a member of the civil society we can only raise our voices in the matter, but it is the government that can effectively influence other governments and institutions to include disability and older age issues. We are hopeful that the issue will be raised by the government in the upcoming Prepcom 2 in November 2014. We need to keep raising the issue so that it is eventually included in HFA-2. We also need to ensure that our implementation phase is inclusive as well. Finally, when speaking of building back better, if at the initial stage we can include the issues of disability, I believe it will save us a lot of adjustments later.
Bangladesh is proud to be a global leader in disaster risk management, but we do not have room for complacence. We have to go a long way in order to understand the full extent of the meaning of resilience. Although the term is being defined in various ways, a number of elements associated with resilience are universally accepted. There has to be a capacity to absorb shocks, a capacity to continue performing a minimum set of functions in spite of absorbing shocks and most importantly the capacity to bounce back. Resilience is not restricted to the elderly and the persons with disabilities alone, it has a much wider context and it requires the cultivation of an inner strength that can also be sustained. Vulnerability does not arise simply out of old age or disability, lack of access to necessary resources has its implications as well. We must address the main limitations holding back sustainable resilience, which are poverty, exploitation, social exclusion and economic exclusion. Our national budget stands at $30bn, consequently, resilience would not have been an issue if this fund could have been distributed and invested effectively among the needy. It is therefore of utmost importance for the poorest communities to be empowered and made aware of their rights and privileges regarding access to public resources, if we are to build a truly resilient nation.
Mohd Shahnawaz Qureshi
Bangladesh is known for being a disaster prone country and is famous for implementing effective disaster management programmes. Back in 2010, when I had gone to Gaibandha to discuss flood-preparedness, a number of people found it extremely odd that we were discussing floods, which wasn’t due for many more months. It is truly inspiring to see that in four years we have made a lot of progress in awareness and that people have received training and community level disaster management committees are
Nazmul Bari
Md Quamrul Hasan
According to the theme of IDDR, in case of a disaster, we are to address everyone including children, the youth, older people and persons with disabilities. Our plan talks about 19 ministries having to work on 134 actions. We can meaningfully address the needs of older people and persons with disabilities only when we have effective inter ministry coordination. We need to ensure that those of us who work on disaster risk management should receive training so that they can address the issue of disability. We also need to improve our overall monitoring mechanism for safety net programme.
Mohammad Abdul Qayyum
We need to determine and implement strategies so that in the aftermath of disaster we can not only bounce back but bounce back better. Adding to that, the livelihood combination isn’t diverse enough
for the people of our country. For example, if along with fishing, there was rickshaw pulling, fishing net production trade and other miscellaneous tasks that bring money, the fishermen would have been better off. We have had discussions regarding the exact number of persons with disabilities in Bangladesh. We may not have an exact figure but the number is still large in our country. They are the people who face the brunt, making the trips back and forth from rescue centres and returning to their homes. The elderly are perceived as having two relationships with society at large. On one end they’re a liability, on the other end they are an asset. The elders are in fact inseparable members of our family, we take care of them and in turn we make use of the wealth of wisdom they have gathered over the decades. In terms of utilising the knowledge of the elders we need to identify exactly how and where they can contribute.
Mohammad Abdul Wazed
The people of Bangladesh are resilient and are bouncing back after each disaster due to our collective efforts on disaster management. We must recognise the contributions of all people, including persons with disabilities, elders and other marginalised groups. We shouldn’t neglect them, rather we should consider how we can gain from their experiences. We have Disaster Management Act, Policy, Standing Order and other documents. We had taken efforts to consider inclusiveness while developing these documents. We must now ensure that these acts and policies are implemented in such a way that persons with disabilities are not excluded. We cannot succeed in sustaining our development gains if disaster risk reduction is seen as the sole responsibility of our ministry; it concerns all ministries and they too should address DRR in their programmes and allocate required resources. We need to review relevant policies, identify the gaps and then undertake initiatives to make these inclusive. We know that in 2015 the HFA–2 will be finalised. The Zero draft has mentioned disability-inclusion, which is encouraging. We will certainly take efforts from our government that HFA-2 considers disability issues with importance. The Prep Com 2 meeting will be organised in November in Geneva where our ministry will participate and raise the issue of disability-inclusion in the Post 2015 DRR Framework. l
ROUND-TABLE DIALOGUE ‘RESILIENCE IS FOR LIFE AND INCLUSIVE DISASTER RISK REDUCTION’ CHIEF GUEST
Mohammad Abdul Wazed, Department of Disaster Management
CHAIRPERSON
Mohammad Abdul Qayyum, Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme
MODERATOR
Dr Nafeesur Rahman, National Forum of Organizations Working with the
Disabled
IN ATTENDANCE
AHM Noman Khan, Centre for Disability in Development Nazmul Bari, Centre for Disability in Development Md Shahnawaz Quraishi, CBM Bangladesh Muhammad Saidur Rahman, Bangladesh Disaster Preparedness Centre Md Monwarul Islam, Action on
Disability and Development ADD International Dr Mahbuba Nasrin, Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies, Dhaka University Kamran Jacob, Save the children Dr Kamranul Baset, Centre for injury prevention and research Bangladesh Md Kamruzzaman, Islamic Relief Bangladesh, Climate Change adaptation and disaster resilience
Nasiruddin Ahmed, Gono Unnoyon Procheshta Moniruzzaman Khan, Brac University, Centre for Climate change and environmental research Razia Sultana, Centre for Disability in Development Sonia Syafitri, Oxfam Bangladesh Naser Showkot Haydar, National Alliance for risk reduction and response initiative
Shafikul Islam, Handicap International Md Ataur Rahman, Department of Disaster Management Towhidul Islam Tarafder, Muslim Aid Mustafizur Rahman, HelpAge International Bangladesh Sayedul Haque, National Forum of Organizations Working with the Disabled Md Badshah Miyah, Member of Ward Disaster Management Committee,
Haripur, Sundarganj Dr Muzharul Mannan, Centre for Neurodevelopment and Autism in Children, Global autism Md Quamrul Hasan, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief Badiuzzaman, Friendship Moni Krishno Roy, Centre for Disability in Development Broja Gopal Saha, Centre for Disability in Development