Community-based disaster risk reduction for field practitioners: the curriculum

This training material is significant in providing the first comprehensive attempt in South Asia to provide a standardized disaster risk reduction (DRR) training curriculum targeting field practitioners and community in order to improve the overall quality and impact of DRR training programmes in South Asia undertaken by Red Cross and Red Crescent Society staff and volunteers.

The community based approaches to DRR recognises the fact that in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, the first response always comes from the community itself. It also recognises that in many cases, top down approaches may fail to address the specific local needs of vulnerable communities, ignore the potential of local resources and capacities and may in some cases even increase people’s vulnerability.