Design and Implementation of Behavioral Change Communication Activities for the Disaster Risk Reduction Sector

Women and men experience different types of vulnerability and have different capacities to offer in responding to a disaster. Disaster vulnerability is a consequence of prevailing social, economic, and political inequalities. The EnGenDER project, an UNDP initiative, seeks to further integrate gender equality and human-rights based approaches into disaster risk reduction (DRR), climate change (CC), adaptation and environmental management frameworks and interventions. It also identifies and addresses some of the gaps to ensure equal access to DRR and climate change and environment solutions for both men, women,
boys and girls in nine Caribbean countries.

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The purpose of this consultancy was to design and implement Behavioural Change Communication (BCC) Plans across five OECS EnGenDER countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, for i) increasing application of gender responsive human rights-based approaches within decision-making bodies; ii) strengthening national policy and decision-making frameworks to encourage greater inclusion of gender equality considerations in national disaster response, recovery and planning frameworks and tools; iii) increasing participation of women, women’s groups as well as other gender-based and civil society organizations in national disaster planning to allow for more inclusive participatory approaches; and iv) enhancing the level of awareness raising and understanding
among decision makers and stakeholders within the disaster resilience framework on the importance of inclusive approaches within disaster recovery actions.

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AAE in consortium with Integrated Health Outreach (IHO), based in Antigua and Barbuda, designed and executed behavioural change communication activities along with targeted advocacy and awareness raising campaigns. These activities were designed and implemented utilizing data and information derived from the
updating of the DRR tools and frameworks in order to develop behavioural change communication interventions that will enhance gender responsive disaster resilience behaviours among decision makers. As a result of the work conducted by AAE and IHO, the main outputs were:
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• 5 country-specific BCC Plans for each of the EnGenDER countries, taking on board the specific and differentiated national context, while leveraging the updated gender responsive tools and frameworks to design behavioural change communication interventions as well as develop behavioural change communication activities and advocacy campaigns
• 3 regional workshops / virtual forums: “Clarifying the Linkages Between Gender and Disaster Risk Reduction, Awareness of the Caribbean Resilient Recovery Facility, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support”; “Gender Responsive Data Collection”; and “Enabling Disaster Response and Recovery that is Responsive to Persons with Disabilities - A Caribbean Regional Forum”
• 2 regional fact sheets: Mental Health and psychosocial support for women, girls and PWD; and Gender-Responsive Advocacy Fact sheet on the importance of agriculture insurance and DRM
• 2 national fact sheets: Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) in Antigua & Barbuda Fact sheet and Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) in St. Lucia Fact sheet,
• 1 Gender Self-Assessment Tool
• 1 Community Gender Mainstreaming Disaster Management Checklist, and
• 1 regional policy brief Leaving no one behind: Integrating Persons with Disabilities into Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies

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