Rapid assessment of needs following natural disasters is critical in order to mount an effective public health response. Needs assessment after natural disasters is particularly challenging because populations are often isolated and difficult to reach. While there are many manuals that document the steps in assessing needs after disasters, rapid assessment protocols are difficult to implement especially in very low-income countries. This paper examines the process of initial assessment of needs after major cyclones struck the island of Madagascar between February and April 2000. The three cyclones and tropical storm caused over 200 deaths and displaced or isolated tens of thousands of people. In the days and weeks that followed, the government, donor, and NGO response to the cyclone was broad-based, but delays in documenting needs caused confusion and the information that was eventually collected was not useful for the decisions that needed to be made. Why did the protocols fail to work in Madagascar, and what lessons can be learned? The paper finds that applying assessment techniques in very poor countries is complicated by a lack of pre-disaster baseline data and difficulties in predicting how local coping mechanisms work. In addition, the study suggests that donors may be biased in defining needs and can cause problems by trying to fit needs into categories such as “immediate” versus “development.” Finally, the paper proposes measures to improve needs assessment, including vulnerability analysis and operational research projects.
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Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, participants will be able to: 1. Describe major steps in needs assessment after disasters; 2. Discuss ways in which needs assessment is complicated when the country or area is very low income; 3. Identify how managers can more successfully assess needs following disasters in very low income countries.
Keywords: Disasters, Needs Assessment
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