Why is diversity so important in emergency preparedness?
When an emergency strikes it can be anything from hyperlocal to regional, national to global and this means that the number and demographic of people affected can also vary greatly. It is vital that there is diversity in emergency planning and preparedness to represent the different communities who may be affected and therefore try to reduce the disproportionate impacts within society.
As we begin to move back towards relative normality, reports and research are showing the true impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on marginalised and underrepresented groups. Roger Wicks, Associate Director for Policy and Campaigns at national hearing loss charity, RNID, said, “Many deaf people and people with hearing loss were not clinically vulnerable, but didn’t have access to public health information because it wasn’t delivered in an accessible way. This was especially true for BSL (British Sign Language) users, who missed out on essential public health messages which were not translated, putting them at greater risk.”
Furthermore, Office for National Statistics (ONS) research has shown that disabled people had a higher rate of death involving COVID-19 across each wave of the coronavirus pandemic, between 24 January 2020 and 9 March 2022, compared with non-disabled people. Whereas a study by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) found that, almost all minority ethnic groups had higher risks of dying from COVID-19 than the white British majority of a comparable age.
However, it is not just in emergencies such as the pandemic in which underrepresented communities are disproportionally impacted. For example, in extreme weather events whether they are heatwaves, flooding, or extreme cold, those from low-income households, are older, or disabled people, are at a far greater risk. Such emergencies are likely to increase in frequency due to climate change and is therefore something that needs to be addressed.
Climate Just, says that low-income families are “more likely to be private or social tenants and have a lower adaptive capacity to heatwaves because they lack both the resources to act and the power to make changes,” with this also an issue in flooding and cold weather events and applying to those who are older or disabled. These groups are also more likely to be in poorly insulated housing making them more vulnerable to outside temperature changes and are less likely to have insurance should their homes and belongings be damaged by storms or flood waters.
Moreover, government figures have shown how some ethnic minority groups are more likely to live in “non-decent homes”, whilst others are less likely. 4% of ‘mixed white and Asian’ households, 5% of Chinese, and 11% of Indian homes were classed as “non-decent”, in comparison to 18% of ‘white British’ households. However, 24% of Bangladeshi homes, 20% of ‘black Caribbean’ households and 33% of ‘mixed white/black African’ homes were classed as “non-decent”. Unsuitable housing can lead to greater vulnerability from weather events, along with more susceptibility to health conditions, and the spread of viruses such as COVID-19.
A United Nations report released last month stated that, “Emergency preparedness requires gender-aware responses to reduce burdens of care, violence and economic insecurity on women.” The same report also described how “countries with higher proportions of women in elected office, irrespective of national income, adopted more policies and budgeting that integrated gender considerations.” This demonstrates how having greater representation whether it be in government policy, or emergency preparedness, can reduce the disproportionate impacts on different groups, and in this case, on women.
Those that are disadvantaged or marginalised are also often less able to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies due to having fewer resources and the opportunities. Therefore, it is imperative that those making decisions in emergency preparedness and response truly understand the difficulties being faced within communities to reduce the impacts of emergencies. It can sometimes be easy to be swayed by our own experiences, especially in a high-pressure emergency, however, greater diversity allows different voices to be heard and learning for us all.
As the Emergencies Partnership, we have learnt over past emergencies that those who know the needs of the people affected best, are those who have shared their experiences, and have a greater understanding of the situation. Whether it be working with the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain during the Ukraine response, Islamic Relief during the Afghan evacuation, or local CVS organisations during the pandemic, admitting that we do not know all the answers has allowed us to grow and learn. By expanding the diversity of our partners, it has also improved preparedness, and put the true needs of those affected by emergencies at the heart of the response. However, there is still a lot of hard work to do to ensure no community is excluded which will, in turn, lead to a more resilient society for us all.
