Giving Compass' Take:

• As we struggle with climate change and coronavirus, Ayesha Marfatia, at India Development Review, discusses the importance of finding the right crisis response for your community.

• Communities vary drastically across various structures. Why is it important to address diversity in crisis response efforts? What are you doing to find the right crisis response in your community?

• Find resources to guide you in developing the right crisis response to the coronavirus.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have reminded us that ‘universal challenges’ are experienced differently, based on context. The varying demographics, systems, and administrative structures in each nation have resulted in distinctive experiences and challenges while grappling with the fallout from the crisis. Within countries too, the experience is not homogeneous—people and communities are interacting with the pandemic in different ways based on their privilege. Take India, for example, where the pandemic, lockdown, and subsequent migration have clearly exposed the layers of socio-economic inequalities in the country.

This reminder, that even universal challenges affect people differently, is something that we must keep in mind when talking about climate change. Because it is a global phenomenon, we need to acknowledge that its effects vary from region to region, and examine the country- and community-specific impacts.

Out of 181 countries, India is considered to be the fifth most vulnerable to climate change. In 2019, in addition to experiencing the hottest July ever recorded, we saw 74 percent more extreme rainfall events and seven cyclones. In fact, in just the first half of the year, about 2.17 million citizens were displaced due to disasters.

After disasters strike, government, philanthropy, humanitarian organisations, and other nonprofits often work on ‘building back better’ and developing community resilience towards disasters.

Community resilience initiatives that help people adapt to climate change and disasters do exist, but there is still a need to deepen their impact, widen their scale, and attract more partners to take this approach. Philanthropy needs to tap into the experience, expertise, and networks of these initiatives and help them to grow.

Read the full article about adopting the right crisis response by Ayesha Marfatia at India Development Review.