| Participatory Vulnerability Analysis
A
step-by-step guide for field staff, developed by ActionAid. |
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Background |
What
do you feel at risk from? What do you do to make yourself feel safe?
Have you ever stopped to think about those little things you do
everyday to make your life secure? This is exactly what ActionAid
is doing with communities all over the world.
Participatory
vulnerability analysis (PVA) is a tool developed by ActionAid to
involve communities we work with in an in-depth examination of their
vulnerability and what can be done to reduce it.
Vulnerability
has many dimensions and many causes – from political events,
seemingly out of the control of everyday people, to practical steps
communities can take to reduce their own vulnerability.
PVA
addresses these different causes of vulnerability in 3 steps:
- Holding
community meetings to find out and examine the causes of vulnerability
and formation of community action plans to reduce it. This might
involve meetings over several days using pictures, stories, role-plays
and discussions in the community. The community is often separated
into smaller groups of women, men, youths, children so that everyone
has the chance to speak up.
- The
community present their findings to the district level authorities
and lobby them to take action to reduce vulnerability.
- The
process is repeated with the national level authorities, representatives
of other national organisations, government and the communities
discuss the findings with a particular emphasis on taking action.
PVA
is versatile and has been used to analyse vulnerability to emergencies
and conflict all over the world and to take steps to reduce the
chance of disasters happening.
|
Guide to the tools |
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