Case Study: Using a Community-Level Vulnerability Index to Target Humanitarian Assistance and Risk Reduction
Summary
This case study describes how USAID Fragile Waters used a vulnerability index to identify populations whose sanitation and hygiene outcomes were most threatened following Hurricanes Eta and Iota. The tool used the status of individual water sources, schools (as emergency shelters), and sanitation systems and considered the pre-existing conditions of communities in Honduras and Nicaragua to determine where humanitarian assistance could serve the most vulnerable. Adoption of this tool by the national Government of Nicaragua subsequently expanded its use to address development needs and guide future disaster risk reduction efforts. This opened the door for collaboration between humanitarian, development, and peace actors, which is known as the HDP nexus.