Rehabilitation

REHABILITATION

Rehabilitation, reconstruction and sustainable recovery refer to measures that help restore the livelihood assets and production levels of emergency-affected communities. These measures rebuild essential infrastructure, institutions, services and restore the means of production destroyed or made non-operational by a disaster.

Post disaster response has been typically at three (now four) levels.

Relief: Immediately after the calamity, lasting from the first 24 hours to about two to three months and catering to immediate shelter, food, water and medical assistance.

Reconstruction: Following relief and extending to a period of approximately two years, aimed at rebuilding the basic physical infrastructure and shelter to enable people to begin fresh start.

Rehabilitation: That looks at more long-term inputs of reinstating lost livelihoods, introducing new economic opportunities and improving land and water management processes so as to reduce people’s vulnerability and enhance capacities to handle future calamities.

Readiness: A response which should ideally have been a proactive measure, it should enhance preparedness in identified vulnerable regions by introducing mechanisms and methods of construction that mitigate impacts of future disasters. Reconstruction and rehabilitation need to be in a seamless continuum with restoration efforts.