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Project title: Implementation of the Sendai Framework in Central America: Promoting a cross-border approach to strengthening inclusion in disaster risk reduction at the regional, national and local levels.
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Project region: El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua
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Project financing: Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and own resources of ASB and FECONORI
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Project volume: € 2,000,000
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Project duration: 01/11/2020 - 31/01/2024
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Target group: People with disabilities and their families, members of organisations of people with disabilities and public institutions in the field of inclusion, local and municipal civil protection committees, and national and regional civil protection authorities.
Strengthening inclusion in disaster risk reduction at all levels | Central America
People with disabilities are disproportionately affected by disasters. The global programme aims to use lessons learned from replicable experiences and to contribute to reducing the risks and increasing the resilience of people with disabilities in the event of disasters in Central America.
The project
In Central America, people with disabilities are a socially marginalised group that experience discrimination in various areas of life, including in humanitarian crises. The marginalisation of people with disabilities, who represent between 10-15% of the population, is further reinforced by the fact that the key actors in disaster risk management in the region are not sufficiently informed about the difficulties faced by people with disabilities in the event of disasters.
How the ASB is helping in Central America
Increasing participation and resilience to disaster risks among people with disabilities
Although an estimated 30% of families have a family member with a disability, there are often no family or community plans in Central America to include this group in disaster protection plans. The ASB draws up and updates the civil protection plans in cooperation with the municipalities and also trains people with disabilities in inclusive disaster risk reduction. Through the active participation of people with disabilities in local civil protection committees, the topic is being pushed forward sustainably. One municipality per programme country will also be included in the UNDRR initiative “Disability Inclusive Resilient City”.
Implementing good practices for inclusive disaster risk reduction
Officials from national civil protection, the humanitarian staff of the United Nations and national and international non-governmental organisations are often not sufficiently informed on inclusive disaster risk reduction. This is why the ASB implements training courses on these topics. The training result in replicable practices that are included in the emergency response plans of national civil protection systems. The ASB also promotes the participation of people with disabilities and their organisations in civil protection exercises at the local, municipal and national level.
Evidence-based lobbying for inclusive disaster risk reduction
The programme supports the mainstreaming of inclusive disaster risk reduction in national and regional frameworks and strategies through evidence-based lobbying. Latin American organisations and networks contribute to the dissemination and replication of successful experiences that are also disseminated on regional and international disaster risk reduction platforms. Through the strong links between partner organisations in the four programme countries, successful experiences can be replicated in one of the other countries and inclusive disaster risk reduction is expanded.