This is the title of a new Benfield UCL Hazard Research Centre working paper,
by Charles Kelly. You can read and download it at
www.benfieldhrc.org/activities/wpdsm.htm
Abstract
There are three basic approaches to assessing the impact of disaster and
defining relief assistance requirements after a disaster: the damage done, the
needs of the affected population or the rights which the survivors have to
achieve life with dignity. Each approach has advantages in assessing post-
disaster needs. Each approach overlaps with the other two, but each
represents a different theoretical view of what should take place following a
disaster. Further, each approach tends to be used by different categories of
assistance providers (e.g., governments, external funding organizations, non-
governmental organizations). The paper explores the nature of each
assessment approach, defines the different theoretical underpinnings of each
approach and outlines the key divergent and convergent aspects of the three
approaches. The paper concludes that it is unlikely that a single unified post-
disaster assessment approach, incorporating damage, needs and rights-based
concepts, will be developed, with the rights-based approach focusing more on
influencing post-disaster relief and recovery through publicity and advocacy.
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