Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

Local government should assess the 'Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Public Health' and whether it is helpful to their recovery planning for Covid-19. The assessment should consider its attributes for providing holistic needs assessments through its multi-sectoral rapid assessments for recovery.

Local government should assess whether the 'Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Public Health' can inform its thinking about aspects of recovery. This scorecard is described in Topic 1 of this briefing in terms of how is provides attributes for rapid assessment to support holistic approaches to thinking about recovery.

Local government should strengthen and support public health systems by ensuring representation of all sectors on the Recovery Coordination Group. The Recovery Coordination Group should take multiple actions simultaneously to ensure swift progress on recovery is made.

This briefing explores the UNDRR’s Disaster Resilience Scorecard (DRS) and its Public Health Addendum (PHA) guidance to assess response and recovery. Both frameworks can also be used to assess potential secondary emergencies during e.g. COVID-19 (e.g. a flood) and their impacts on the healthcare system.

To read this briefing in full, follow the source link below to TMB Issue 1 (p.1-6).

Local government should identify lessons learned and update their DRR plans, procedures and practices with knowledge gained during the Covid-19 response. This should integrate lessons from all sectors to improve DRR practices with information about epidemics that effect all aspects of society, commerce and life. Covid-19 has change thinking that pandemics were limited to the health sector and has moved its prominence into all sectors and to all stakeholder. Cities are now epidemic aware and this social and institutional memory should be recorded and used to inform plans.

Reference: American Red Cross

Local government should implement tax breaks for sectors that are most affected by the crisis such as tourism, restaurants and events.

Reference: Chief Resilience Officer, Italy

Local government should monitor reductions in carbon emissions and promote clean air campaigns by encouraging the continuation of online and remote working after Covid-19 movement restrictions are relaxed.

Reference: CEO Digital Corporation, Germany

Local government should offer a 'Mutual Aid Fund' to help those charities and other community organisations that are in financial difficulty and support the comeback of the economy through city activities. This should receive donations from all aspects of society including, individuals, organisations, and others.

Reference: Chief Resilience Officers, Italy & UK

Local governments should test volunteers to see if they are infected with COVID-19, and the potential for track and trace, to the risk of resurgence or infection, especially in the vulnerable populations they support. Collecting this information can help to model the transmission of the virus.

Reference: American Red Cross , USA

Local government should capitalise on new volunteer-to-volunteer relationships, to help provide multi-sectoral delivery of services and to build connections with vulnerable groups that they may have previously struggled to engagement with. For example, foodbanks could partner with organisations to combat wider issues of discrimination.

Reference: State Volunteer Coordinator, USA

Local government should plan for the effect of cascading disasters that happen at the same time as Covid-19. This should plan for solutions and mass care and solutions which respect social distancing during evacuation and shelter.

Reference: American Red Cross, USA

Local government should identify where to source, pre-position and warehouse resources for disasters that may happen during the response and recovery to Covid-19. This will seek to mitigate the cascading impacts of simultaneous events e.g. PPE and other resources needed if homes flood and people are to be evacuated from their homes and temporarily housed.

Reference: American Red Cross

Local government should coordinate procurement between government and voluntary sector to anticipate the long-term provision of services i.e. foodbanks (in US Feeding America had their orders cancelled by suppliers as government bought stocks).

Reference: Feeding America, USA

Local government should ensure empathy is prominent in the Recovery Coordination Group including in all strategic decision making and activities and the application of 'Principles of Resilience' to provide an all-of-society approach that considers need and their circumstance.

Reference: Essex County Council-Emergency Planning & Resilience, UK

Local government should provide additional psychosocial support for stigmatised or marginalised groups, those with underlying health conditions, and those that may be part of a marginalised group and have a health condition (i.e. those living with HIV).

Local government should develop a strategy to reimagine the use of green spaces so that they are accessible to all and accommodate social distancing for the foreseeable future.

Reference: Chief Resilience Officer, Italy

Local government should identify strategies to tackle spikes in gender based violence as a result of isolation, social distancing and quarantine measures. They should consider requirements for increased social and legal support for elongated/reoccurring lockdowns, and holistic partnerships with the voluntary sector to support and protect those at risk and educate both men and women.

References: Professor from the International Center for Collaborative Research on Disaster Risk Reduction; Hospital Executive; Chief Resilience Officer; UK Local Resilience Forum

Local government should target recovery plans to different communities based on how they have been impacted and their resultant recovery needs. This should take a strategic approach to ensure that all of society are considered in the plans and that these vary across regions (e.g. levels of unemployment, age of population). This should develop briefing packs to assess the needs of recovery in a variety of sectors.

Additional reference: American Red Cross, USA

Local government should create a Recovery and Humanitarian Advisory Group to specifically address the multifaceted needs of vulnerable people during the recovery. This group should provide strategic overview, co-ordination, and direction of work being done across the response and within local governments which is relevant to 'humanitarian assistance' and 'recovery'. This group would aim to minimise duplication of efforts and gaps and reduces the risk that people assume that widespread help is being delivered when actually more targeted is being done - leaving gaps.

The Recovery and Humanitarian Advisory Group should:

• appoint a Chair and identify members
• provide advice during the response phase
• encourage empathy in strategic decision making as well as a people-focused approach
• appoint a co-ordinator to help administer the group

The RHAG will provide specific humanitarian assistance information into the Recovery Coordination Group (and may eventually be subsumed into that group).

Reference: Essex County Council-Emergency Planning & Resilience

Local government should create a Recovery Co-ordination Group to co-ordinate a wide ranging, county-wide approach to recovery. This group should provide strategic leadership and coordination to all partners across the city as it seeks to recover from Covid-19. This group has a broad remit, and thereby differs to the narrow remit of the Recovery and Humanitarian Advisory Group which will provide reports into the Recovery Co-ordination Group.

Reference: Essex County Council-Emergency Planning & Resilience, UK

Local government should develop recovery plans that include potential for cascading, simultaneous disasters which may require emergency responses activities e.g. evacuation of homes during a flood, amid the epidemic.

Local government should advise that, for some populations, it will not be possible to ease restrictions on their movement outside of the home until:

• an effective vaccine is developed
• an effective treatment is developed
• community-wide immunity is achieved to reduce the risk to acceptable levels for all groups

These individuals will require protection that includes isolation and will need a blend of national and community-based programs. For example:

• Delivery of food and medicine
• Provision of a specialized medical care environment
• Social support
• Financial assistance e.g. for basic living expenses

Local government should initiate a Recovery Coordination Group to begin planning the recovery of the effects of Covid-19. At a strategic level, the Corporate Leadership Team should appoint a lead strategic officer to provide strategic oversight and decision making for the recovery.

Reference: Essex County Council-Emergency Planning & Resilience, UK