Build back better: Making inclusion work in disaster recovery in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan

This study aims to document evidence on the need to advance gender- and disability-inclusion in disaster recovery and also to use such evidence in mapping out pathways and entry points to make inclusion work in post-disaster contexts. Moreover, it aims to highlight the particular circumstances of women with disabilities, a “sector within a sector” that largely remains invisible in disaster risk management and development programming. 

The study endeavors to answer the question: How can Build Back Better disaster recovery programs and initiatives in Tacloban City, Philippines, be made more gender- and disability-inclusive? With this in mind, the study was designed to capture the challenges and opportunities for inclusion that exist for persons with disabilities in the post-Typhoon Haiyan reconstruction context, which would allow the implementing organization to formulate measures to promote inclusiveness in recovery programs. Moreover, with the recognition that disaster experiences are also largely shaped by gender, the study also explicitly applies a gender lens in order to account for the differences in experiences, risks, and capacities of women and men with disabilities. This is also in acknowledgment of how across cultures, women and girls with disabilities tend to confront multiple forms of discrimination that arise from their gender identity.