As part of the Australian Government’s Humanitarian Partnership Agreement (HPA), Caritas Australia, the Catholic Church’s agency for international aid and development, has been allocated $500,000 for key activities that will reduce risks to disasters for vulnerable communities.
The funds allocated will enable Caritas Australia and its partners to reach the most marginalised women, men and children in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Gaza, Kenya and in the Pacific.
The Government’s commitment coincides with the International Day for Disaster Reduction, a chance to celebrate how people and communities are reducing risks to disasters and are raising awareness about the importance of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). In 2014 the international theme focuses on older people who sometimes face extra vulnerabilities when disaster strikes, but also play a key role in building resilience with their knowledge and experience.
Disaster Risk Reduction is the practice of reducing disaster risks through analysing and managing the causes of disasters. Caritas DRR activities include community and countrywide drills for preparedness and adaptation practices to prepare and reduce vulnerability.
Caritas Australia’s Acting Manager of Humanitarian Emergencies, Richard Forsythe, said the poor are the most physically, economically, socially and environmentally vulnerable to disasters.
“Disasters can destroy lives, national economies and development programs alike, setting back years of progress,” Mr Forsythe said. “Disaster Risk Reduction is an attempt to prepare, mitigate and adapt to the impact of disasters, hopefully decreasing the socio-economic impacts faced by millions of people worldwide every year.
“Caritas Australia and our partners take pride in helping communities before, during and after the headlines.
“These government funds will be directed to programs for the most vulnerable groups in emergencies such as: people with disabilities in Vietnam, indigenous groups in Bangladesh and children in the Pacific.”
Bangladesh is a disaster prone country due to its geographical location where hazards such as cyclones, floods, droughts and earthquakes are common. The latest funds will enable Caritas Bangladesh to assist more than 28,000 people in DRR activities, including indigenous communities in the northwestern part of the country, Dinajpur.
In Vietnam, funds for DRR activities will benefit more than 19,000 people. For example, the low-lying coastal areas of Thừa Thiên–Huế Province in central Vietnam, are some of the poorest areas in the country and complex in terms of climate and terrain. The Hải Lăng District, within this area has a population of over 85,000 and a poverty rate of approximately 13%. There, the number of people with disabilities exceeds 3,000 and 1 in 3 are suspected to be affected by Agent Orange.
In the Gaza strip, the funds will benefit almost 14,000 people including urban women in DRR activities. There the unstable political situation and tense relationships with neighbours have destroyed agricultural land, damaged infrastructure and displaced civilians.
Funding for Caritas in the Pacific will go to the UN award-winning Nursery Rhymes project in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, which is providing valuable information as to the strategies to educate young children in how to respond in emergencies.