Making Women's Voices Count in Natural Disaster Programs in East Asia and the Pacific

The East Asia region is highly prone to
the impacts of natural disasters. Situated in the ring of
fire, countries in the region are regularly hit by typhoons,
earthquakes, floods, and other events. Natural disasters can
have major impacts on the social and economic welfare of a
population, and often pose serious obstacles in the
achievement of sustainable social and economic development.
Moreover, impacts from disasters are not uniformly
distributed within a population and tend to
disproportionately affect the poorest and most marginalized
groups. Women are at a particular risk. Women often
experience higher rates of mortality, morbidity and
post-disaster diminishment in their livelihoods. Several
underlying factors exacerbate women's vulnerability to
the impacts of disasters, such as lack of means to recoup
lost assets, limited livelihood options, restricted access
to education and basic services, and in many cases, also
socio-cultural norms. This note explores some of the
underlying issues that are linked to gender and
vulnerability to natural disasters and offers examples of
how to address some of these issues in disaster risk
management programs.