Disasters, like an earthquake or a violent coup d’état, can strike suddenly, or like droughts and floods, develop slowly. These types of emergencies are devastating for people everywhere, but for those whose livelihoods or food needs depend entirely on agriculture and natural resources, these disasters can often be overwhelming. FAO helps communities address emergencies in a variety of ways from anticipatory action and preparedness to rebuilding livelihoods and making communities more resilient.
Here are just five ways FAO helps people before, during and after emergencies:
1. Anticipatory action
Many crises, such as natural disasters, are largely unavoidable, but there is a lot that can be done early on to mitigate them. For example, in July 2020, when experts detected a risk of massive flooding to Bangladeshi communities along the Jamuna River, FAO worked quickly with partners to protect them from the impacts. FAO provided these communities with flood-proof storage drum containers that helped keep their seeds, grains, tools and essentials safe.
In the early days of the floods, when her well was flooded with dirty water, Kokila Akhter used her FAO storage container for another function, too. Kokila was three months pregnant, and her health was more important than ever. “I stored safe water in the drum to drink and for cooking. Drinking safe water helped me to stay healthy during my pregnancy,” she says.