Making Disaster Safer

This edited book was produced through a transnational and transdisciplinary UNESCO Chair Project on Gender and Vulnerability in Disaster Risk Reduction Support. Contributors come from five disaster-prone Asian countries and the chapters reflect their rich knowledge and practical experience in disaster management and humanitarian assistance. The chapters all with a focus on gender and vulnerability illustrate that gender can make people especially women vulnerable. The chapters address the experiences of state and non-state actors responding to disaster and promoting recovery at the local level. However while women and vulnerable people may be victims of disasters they also serve as agents for recovery and voices for better disaster preparedness. In sharing both successes and failures as well as suggestions for the future this book speaks to the need for transdisciplinary knowledge and multilevel coordination as well as full equality for all genders and respect for human rights in order to cope with increasingly more frequent intense and complex emergencies. This book is of interest as a text to students in a variety of disciplines who are focusing on disaster and health emergencies as well as to practitioners and others promoting disaster risk reduction and resilience.<br><br><p></p>