Tsunami, Gender and Recovery

The main actors of tsunami recovery, the key government agencies, such as Task Force for Rebuilding the Nation (TAFREN), the international agencies including International NGOs, and many UN agencies do not have the capacity and skills to consult and engage women adequately, or incorporate gender issues into the rebuilding process. While the importance of gender considerations is endorsed by the respective orgnisations at the highest levels, in the policy documentation, there is limited evidence of application at the planning or implementation levels. Recovery projects, such as livelihood recovery and capacity building of institutions and affected people, suffer from the lack of inclusion of gender based issues. Both at the central and field levels, recovery projects are often planned without sufficient gender disaggregated information. It is observed that the institutions and teams responsible for capacity building and planning, are often not equipped with persons with the required skills.