Response to Disaster: Government’s Role

Access this link: Disaster Politics reading(2).pdf

This focuses on one element of how governments approach disasters and preparations. Another area is the influence that governments have during disasters and how they “support” their population during a crisis. Disaster relief can be a powerful political tool in order to maintain control over their population.

Look at some recent disasters or Humanitarian events, such as the Ebola outbreak or the Haiti earthquake of 2010. From your readings, attempt to cite an example of how political influence can obstruct effective disaster operations. Briefly comment on what impact NGO’s may have- good or bad- in politically unstable environments.

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It is the role of a sitting government to make adequate preparations that would see the country make appropriate responses to emerging cases of disaster within the country. However, such efficiency primarily depends on how well the government is committed to ensuring the well-being of the citizens, as inferred by its level of goodwill. In the Haiti, 2010 earthquake, claims of corruption and inappropriate use of international funds left the country so isolated from relief that the number of deaths reached a staggering figure compared to that in Chile despite the latter having a unit magnitude higher than Haiti in its earthquake the same period (Smith and Flores). Consequently, the image a government portrays to the world has the potential to improve obstruct humanitarian assistance to the country in the event of a disaster, the consequences of which would be a significant effect on the impact of the disaster on the country in question………………………….
APA 325 words