Post-disaster reconstruction – the role of the elderly within a “building back better” approach
P. Hollenbach
Full text PDF 
( Download count: 41)
AbstractThis input is a reflection on 20 years of experience in the field of reconstruction after natural disasters in Sri Lanka, Nepal, and India with a special focus on the needs and integration of the elderly population. Countries in the Global South are increasingly confronted with the challenges of good care and opportunities for care in non-domestic settings and within their family and living structures (Speck, Müller-Böker 2021). Better living conditions and healthy nutrition lead to higher life expectancy averages and thus to the question of good care and provision (Khanal et al 2018). In this context, we would like to carefully reflect on previous experiences in post-disaster reconstruction processes brining in a social work perspective questioning: "How can specific potentials as well as needs of the elderly population taken into account and anchored in post-disaster reconstruction?”. Practical experiences gained in post-tsunami reconstruction in Sri Lanka 2004 and post-earthquake reconstruction in Nepal 2015 show that the needs and long-term challenges of an ageing society are not yet respected or taken into account in post-disaster reconstruction efforts towards “building back better” for all. The elderly are still perceived as fragile and not as an active empowered group in community development, yet in post-disaster processes (Ku, Dominelli, 2018). This input focusses on thinking together about this topic based on previous experiences, visioning and imagining new ideas and innovations in technology in the context of post-disaster and reconstruction.Keywords: Post-disaster reconstruction, elderly perspective, green social work and post-disaster, new technologies
P. Hollenbach (2024). Post-disaster reconstruction – the role of the elderly within a “building back better” approach. Gerontechnology, 23(2), 2-2
https://doi.org/10.4017/gt.2024.23.s.1137.2.sp