Rights Based Sustainable Livelihood Assessment: A Strategy for Humanitarian Agencies during Disaster

Existing models that assess the impact of disasters are narrow in scope as they tend to overlook the effect of disasters on people's livelihood. They mainly use the conventional method, latter participatory methods were used but still it was not comprehensive enough to address the issue. Recently from 1990’s onwards the Sustainable Livelihood Approach (SLA) and Livelihood Assessment Tool-kit (LAT) for relief agencies (FAO and ILO, 2009) and has been experimented in many countries, the efficacy and long-term effect of LAT still need to be empirically evaluated. Immediately after the 2010 Haiti earthquake investigator used the SLA with right's perspective to carry out the livelihood assessment of the affected people. The investigator used the participatory approach and qualitative tools to collect the information. Using the SL approach from right's perspective developed a livelihood model for the survivors. The investigator conducted three in-depth interviews and FGD with survivors of Jacmel and another focus group with 14 volunteers from a local NGO in Port au Prince in order to examine the livelihood needs and capacities of the Haitian community. In the next phase, 35 local NGO workers were recruited and trained in an in vitro livelihood analysis session that mirrored Haitian livelihood conditions. It is expected that the proposed livelihood assessment model and intervention strategy can be adopted by NGOs, government, and other aid agencies in designing their livelihood interventions in Haiti and similar other nations affected by disasters.