Resilience has been among the top development buzzwords in recent years, often mentioned in the aftermath of natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies.
But in the wake of Super Typhoon Haiyan that devastated parts of central Philippines and amid the struggle to contain the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, another catchphrase is being mentioned as often as resilience: Build back better.
“Part of the mistake I think that we see often in disaster relief and recovery is that there’s an immediate rush to build it back the way it was before and that after all is part of what made us vulnerable so weak pieces shouldn’t be rebuilt in the same way,” Judith Rodin, president of The Rockefeller Foundation, told Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar in a video interview.
About the author
Aimee Rae Ocampo
As former Devex editor for business insight, Aimee created and managed multimedia content and cutting-edge analysis for executives in international development.
