Building resilience among remote communities
In a highly disaster-prone country ranked 180th on the Human Development Index, any CREWS project in Afghanistan needed components with direct and immediate impact on people and communities. The objective – build their resilience to natural hazards. In the past decade, nearly 70 disasters caused by floods, landslides, droughts, earthquakes, and storms affected more than 25 million people in the country. Before the political change in Afghanistan put a brake on CREWS activities, a community-based disaster risk management initiative was piloted in 10 communities comprising nearly 10,500 people at the time. Low-cost sustainable weather stations and weatherboards were installed; women and men were trained to use them. Impact surveys showed that 9 in 10 community members reported frequent use of weather data for decision-making. The result? Women, men, crops, and assets were better protected. With many Afghan communities in remote, hard-to-access locations in Afghanistan, expanding this approach, when possible, would see more resilient people and communities – including women.
