IDDRR 2025: CBM joins organisations in calling for inclusive disaster preparedness

The paper has been signed by a group of NGOs including the German Red Cross, Plan International, Workers' Samaritan Federation, World Vision, Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe, Malteser International, and Welthungerhilfe.  

It outlines a series of key messages, at the core of which is the call for DRR to be designed with and for the people at risk. A prerequisite for this requirement is ensuring that policy makers and practitioners understand the barriers to participation and related underlying risk factors. The paper outlines that: 

• DRR must be designed with and for people at risk – their perspectives, capacities, and their lived experiences must be at the centre. 

• DRR requires systemic and social solutions and sustainable, long-term funding commitments. 

• DRR should not just manage risks but also transform the underlying drivers of vulnerability that shape risk. 

Disasters can alter the lives of communities irreversibly in mere moments. The better prepared community members are, the more likely they are to withstand the ramifications of disasters. However, persons with disabilities are often excluded from disaster preparedness despite being severely affected by disasters. This is why CBM prioritises disability inclusive disaster risk reduction (DIDRR). Through various, disability-inclusive projects, CBM not only works to identify and reduce risk elements but also provides support for communities to recover from disasters. 

In Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), CBM and the project partner Health and Development (SAD) have identified the lack of disaster safeguards in the city’s growing informal housing areas. In response, SAD worked with the community to map risks and conducted workshops and simulations which resulted in the establishment of 10 inclusive disaster risk management committees. Additionally, the project included a crisis modifier which was activated following two disasters, enabling the population affected by a landslide to receive essential household kits, and the reconstruction of a home belonging to a person with disability, that was destroyed by fire. 

The ability of a community to withstand disasters is also dependent on its resilience and ability to recover. For this reason, CBM’s DIDRR project in Niger, in partnership with DEMI-E, conducted a study on vulnerability and capacities and supported the community to establish three resilient value chains: goat rearing, poultry, and sesame. These value chains are flexible in the event of a disaster such as drought, flood, or parasite outbreaks. These activities, which included persons with disabilities, have given them a sustainable source of capital that will help them prepare and respond to disasters.