Resilience is the ability of an individual, a community or a country to cope with, adapt and recover positively, efficiently and effectively from the impact of a natural disaster, violence or conflict. Resilience covers all stages of disaster - from prevention to adaptation.
Dr Kurokawa calls resilience "the unifying approach that transcends the various pillars and is a prerequisite for achieving sustainable development, peace and prosperity for all and particularly those who are furthest behind". Systems, institutions, communities, families and individuals are considered resilient when they have the capacities and resources to cope with and bounce back from both anticipated and unanticipated shocks.
She gives a very lucid explanation of resilience at different levels:
At the national and societal level resilience may be about having positive social norms and customs that support gender equality. It entails having early-warning and early-action systems and having strong social-protection schemes. At the institutional level resilience is having strong health and school infrastructures, sea walls built along vulnerable coastal areas and mobile health units and skilled personnel that can mobilize quickly at the onset of a disaster. At the community level it means local leadership and participation and decision making of women and youth groups. At the family and individual level it means having equal household decision making, equal livelihood and economic opportunities for all, especially women, and having supportive intergenerational relationships.
An individual's resilience may depend on factors such as their economic well-being, education, health, and age as these define their capacity to cope and adjust. Building communities' resilience is critical to minimise the impact of disasters and prevent future humanitarian crises.
The Sendai Framework for disaster-risk reduction - the first major agreement of the post 2015 development agenda - provides governments with concrete actions to protect development gains from the risks of disaster. It prioritises that disaster-risk reduction is inclusive of and accessible for people disproportionately affected by disasters. It also advocates for gender and disability to be integrated in all policies of disaster-risk management and the comeback of young people in humanitarian action.
Even under normal conditions, reproductive-health issues are some of the leading causes of death, illness and disability among women. Moreover, during and after any disaster, women and girls are disproportionately exposed to the risk of loss of livelihood, security and even lives. They face significantly increased risks for unintended pregnancies, gender-based violence, sexually transmitted infections and maternal mortality, says Dr Tomoko Kurokawa.
Globally some 500 women and girls die every day from pregnancy- and childbirth-related complications in countries facing humanitarian and fragile contexts. This is often a result of unavailability of sexual- and reproductive-health services and not having access to delivery and emergency obstetric services.
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