Is there such thing as Indian Childhood?

The worldview towards childhood was captured by the CRC adopted by the United Nation in 1989, and was implemented all over the world, including in India in 1992.  The CRC stance of childhood was directly influenced by the North (western developed countries) and as such, it is individualistic, ungendered, and to a great extend nostalgic in nature. Such construct of childhood has been criticized by activists in the south from the very beginning and rightly so. The CRC view of childhood was criticized for many valid reason, two key criticism includes 

• Not giving a role or importance to the kin, family groups, community which are critical in the south as part of the socialization process of the child (Nieuwenhuys, 1998). 
• And, ignoring the multiplicity of childhood in the south.  

Considering the plurality of childhood in the south, it seems like an individualistic approach in policy paper seems logical, but the childhood in the south is too complicated to be addressed as such in policy papers. So how complicated is the childhood in the south, and looking at India specifically, can there be such thing as an Indian childhood?  

According to Raman (2000), in classical Hindu literature, there’s only one type of childhood i.e. ‘boychild’ as its point of reference, whereas in some tribes in India, the practice varies. She also mentioned that in India, the individuality of the child is acknowledged while deeply embedded in the larger social matrix of community, caste/tribe, kin group and family.  Some key / common feature of childhood that can be observed across India might includes: 

Plurality of Childhood: Childhood in India is marked by its plurality as captured by Raman (2000). For instance, the experience of childhood in India varies horizontally and vertically. Horizontally, there are almost 5000 communities in India which translate to 5000 diverse experience, while vertically, we have the caste, class and gender (Raman, 2000).

Distinct Development task: Also, the distinction of Indian childhood from that of the western concept can be seen in the developmental task of Indian children (Bisht, 2008), for instance;  the  girl child gradually take over the household chores from mothers and in preparation of a marriage life, while the boys get indulgence in their earlier life gradually moving towards an inflexible standards of absolute obedience and conformity to familial and societal standards.

This implies that Indian childhood can be marked by:

• Plurality of childhood: Since childhood is socially construct, then the extreme diversity in India will definitely have an impact on how we construct childhood across the country.  
• Continuity between childhood and adulthood. There's no rigid gap between childhood and adulthood like in the west especially for the girl child, she's expected to perform adult gender role from a very early age.  
• Childhood as a time for preparation for adulthood, especially for girls who are constantly groomed for marriage.
• Unique developmental task (girls priority is household works and preparation for marriage which are not a priority among parents in the west, while boys are indulged at first then move towards familial and social conformity). 

What more can we add to this list...any suggestion?

ROLE OF SOCIAL WORK IN CANCER PREVENTION AND CANCER CARE

 

Cancer is, to a large extent, avoidable. Many types of cancers are preventable. Others can be detected early in their development, treated and cured. Even with late stage cancer, the pain can be reduced, the progression of the cancer slowed, and patients and their families helped to cope.

The profession of social work has great strength in tools and techniques especially in the areas of community mobilization and in providing psychosocial support that the medical profession doesn’t have. Some other example of the strength of social work will include social action and mass mobilization; understanding of community’s dynamics and eliciting community participation; social welfare linkage and management; counselling, group work and community work for educational purpose and psycho-social support, etc. The tools of social action especially mass motivation, mobilization and participation of the community will be very effective at the preventive level of cancer.

In the Curative level, social work can provide supportive roles to the doctors and patients by providing psychosocial and emotional support which is today, widely accepted as a critical component of medical treatment. It can provide motivational, educational and therapeutic counselling to the cancer patients; it can links patients with necessary resources like funding and treatment aids from the governmental sector as well as non-governmental sectors, etc.

At the rehabilitation level, there is even a greater role for social work by taking care of the palliative unit. At the palliative level, taking care of the psycho-emotional needs is critical not just for the cancer patients but also for their families for any eventualities.

The Government of India under its National Cancer Control Programmes (NCCP) followed four principal approaches in controlling cancer in India. This paper will also follow that approach in exploring the possible roles of the profession of Social Work in Cancer Care and Prevention, with one more heading added, i.e. Policy level.  

1. Prevention
2. Early Detection
3. Diagnosis and Treatment
4. Palliative Care
5. Policy Level

1. PREVENTIVE LEVEL

Prevention should be the key element in any disease control programme. Prevention means eliminating or minimizing exposure to the causes of cancer, and includes reducing individual susceptibility to the effect of such causes. This approach offers the greatest public health potential and the most cost effective long-term method of cancer control.

Cancer prevention at the individual and community level, social worker can take a leading role by ensuring community participation in taking preventive actions, awareness generation at all level from school, neighbourhood, to community.

• The most useful prevention strategy is reduction in tobacco consumption (all forms). Currently about 50% of cancers in men and 20% of cancers in women are related to tobacco use. Social workers can take a leading role in spreading the health implication of tobacco, helping people deal with tobacco addiction, and rehabilitation of tobacco farmers and those whose livelihoods depended on tobacco in one form or the other by helping and generating alternative source of livelihood;
• The social workers can ensure in involving all levels of the population in the educational process regarding cancer. The contents of cancer education should focus on, tobacco control, physical activity and avoidance of obesity, healthy dietary practices, reducing occupational and environmental occupational exposures, reducing alcohol use, immunization against hepatitis B virus, safe sexual practices to avoid human papilloma virus infection.
• Campaigning for a healthy lifestyle, which includes eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, avoidance of alcohol and adequate physical activity, is protective for many of the non-communicable diseases including cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and can be considered as part of the overall health promotion programmes.
• Cancers related to infectious agents such as human papillomavirus and hepatitis B virus can be prevented through vaccination strategies, and social workers can take a leading role in mobilizing the communities.

For the above mentioned prevention measures at the community level, a variety of methods can be employed to educated the community:

• Among School and University student: Conducting drawing and essay competitions, debates, discussions, seminars and street play competitions, etc.
• Among Community organization, Municipal, District and State Health Administration: Organizing Participatory workshops and training sessions.
• In the Mass Media: Participatory programmes on radio and television, descriptive articles in newspapers and magazines,
• Among the General population: Conducting exhibitions and public lectures, conducting street level awareness drive, focus group discussion with community members, health camp, etc.

2. EARLY DETECTION OF CANCER

Early detection of cancer is critical in combating cancer mortality rate. In India, almost 60 – 70 % of cancer patients are detected at advanced stage which reduced the chances of recovery and raise the cancer mortality rate. 

Cancer Screening is the application of a relatively simple and inexpensive test to asymptomatic subjects to classify them as being likely or unlikely to have cancer. A screening test in itself will not prevent cancer; it needs to be followed up through a systematic medical approach. Still, this is a relative simple measure for early detection of cancer that can be undertaken even by those who have no advance training in medicine but are familiar with medical processes like medical and health social workers with minimal training about the screening process.

• Opportunistic screening or case finding can be done by the Medical Social Welfare Unit in selected pockets of community based on the populations’ likelihood of getting cancer (this can be determined by many criteria like life-style, community living in industrial areas, or in a waste disposal or waste treatment areas, community whose livelihood are related to radiation or tobacco industry, etc.). This will help not only in early detection but also in increasing the awareness level of the community.
• Clinical breast examination can be made feasible for women above the age of 40 years, which can be carried out by general practitioners besides community mobilizers like Social Workers. Also there are some simple breast self-examination techniques for women which social workers can teach to groups of women in the communities.
• Cancers in accessible parts of the body like the oral cavity may be detected at an early stage or even in a precancerous stage through simple inspection and examination; medically familiar personnel like medical social workers can be trained for this purpose.
• Self-examination of the oral cavity (MSE) and breast (BSE) can be useful methods and each can be propagated widely as a strategy through simple IEC (Informational, Educational Communication) materials, community meeting, focus group discussion, etc. for the early detection of cancer.

3. DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT LEVEL

In the Curative level, social work can provide supportive roles to the doctors by providing psychosocial and emotional support to the patients and their families which is considered as a critical component of medical treatment. It can provide motivational, educational and therapeutic counselling to the cancer patients; it can links patients with necessary resources like funding and treatment aids from the governmental sector as well as non-governmental sectors, etc.

At the diagnosis and treatment level, the roles and functions that a social worker can play in cancer care are:

• Motivation counselling to patients to seek medical help and enabling resources for the treatment and providing proper referral services
• Educational counselling to the cancer patients about their medical status, preparing them for future course of treatment and treatment process and the possible outcomes of the treatments.
• Therapeutic counselling to deal with the psychological stress and trauma that can have severe implication on their already weak physical body;
• If the patients and/or the family are in crisis because of the treatment, crisis intervention has to be undertaken
• Emotional support to the family of the cancer patients, and eliciting the involvement of the family in the treatment process
• Providing the cancer patients with various social welfare resources that will enable and enhance their access to better health care and treatment
• Linkage of cancer patients with governmental and non-governmental welfare resources
• Organizing therapeutic and/or peer support group for cancer patients
• Since cancer patients are under extensive emotional and psychological anxiety and stress, organizing recreational and entertainment for them is important
• A diagnosis of cancer and subsequent treatment can have a significant impact on self-concept, the way in which people perceive or react to themselves. Living with cancer may affect personal self-concept (facts about the self or a person’s self-opinion); social self-concept (perceptions of how one is regarded by others); and self-ideals (perceptions of oneself with respect to how one would like to be). Social worker can provide support and counselling for such patients.

4. PALLIATIVE CARE

Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problems associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment, and treatment of pain and other problems – physical, psychosocial and spiritual. Palliative care is particularly important in less developed countries where a high proportion of cancer patients are diagnosed in advanced stages when treatment is no longer effective. These patients can be relieved from suffering with relatively low-cost interventions.

The various issues that crop up in palliative care especially in the terminal stages are:

• Physical issues towards the end of life incudes loss of function and curtailment of activity and physical effects to perform activities of daily living, including self-care activities, mobility, physical activities and role activities.
• Psychological issues towards the end of life include fear, distress, anxiety, anger, frustration, disappointment, depression, etc.
• Social issues towards the end of life include disruption social relationships as a result of impaired ability to pursue normal activities and maintenance of social contacts.
• Existential and spiritual issues towards the end of life include confrontation with mortality, the meaning of life, isolation and worth as a person. As patients reached terminal stages, spiritual issues gain importance as determinants of quality of life. Spiritual considerations may also assist the individual to endure present discomforts and, if need be, to face death with courage and dignity.
• Impact of towards-the-end-of-life issues on the family includes general depression, concern about old parents or young children, unclear role and power structures in the family, unclear source of income and means of livelihoods, etc.

The role of the social worker is to help the family and patient deal with the personal and social problems of illness and disability, as well as to provide support during the progression of the disease and the bereavement process if the patient is at the end of life.

• The social worker’s assessment helps define the patient’s and family’s needs from a psychosocial perspective, and helps anticipate problems within the family that may result from dysfunction and financial difficulties, particularly as the family begin planning for the future.
• Social work offer such interventions as referral to needed community services, emotional support (including individual counselling of patients and family members) and bereavement counselling.
• At this stage, social worker can help in finding help and assistance for the patients if there is no one to take care of them, find a nursing home or palliative care unit that can take-care of their personal needs, and helping the family of the patients on how to deal with this physical issues.
• The social worker can help the patients in coping and dealing with the issues of their medical condition, including the possibility of death, ensuring that their personal concern and worries are taken care of as much as possible, and if the need arises, finding spiritual guide and person to interact with the patients.
• The social worker can help the patients in staying in contact with family and friends and other loved ones, explain to the family how he is unable to maintain or reciprocate the relationships, etc.
• Conducting support group for the family, along with therapeutic counselling to cope with the situation.

5. POLICY LEVEL OF CANCER CARE

There are many ways that a social worker can get involved at the Macro level of cancer prevention and cancer care:

• Many types of cancers can be prevented to a large extent through a comprehensive tobacco control programme including education, legislation, and tobacco cessation services.
• Ensuring leadership that create clarity and unity of purpose, and to encourage team building, broad participation, ownership of the process, continuous learning and mutual recognition of efforts made in cancer care.
• Ensuring involvement of stakeholders of all cancer related sectors, and at all levels of the decision-making process, to enable active participation and commitment of key players for the benefit of cancer control programme.
• Creation of partnerships to enhance effectiveness through mutually beneficial relationships, and build upon trust and complementary capacities of partners from different disciplines and sectors.
• Responding to the needs of people at risk of developing cancer or already presenting with the disease, in order to meet their physical, psychosocial and spiritual needs across the full continuum of care.
• Ensuring decision-making based on evidence, social values and efficient and cost effective use of resources that benefit the target population in a sustainable and equitable way.
• Ensuring the application of a systemic approach by implementing a comprehensive programme for cancer with inter-related key components sharing the same goals and integrated with other related programmes and to the health system.
• Seeking continuous improvement, innovation and creativity to maximize performance and to address social and cultural diversity, as well as the needs and challenges presented by a changing environment.

Looking at the prevalent trends in the spread and magnitude of cancer and its non-discriminate penetration of every sections of the society, cancer is already a health concern that needs urgent attention from all sections including policy-makers across the world. According to the World Health Organization, death from cancer and other life-style diseases in the developing world including India is expected to increase 104% worldwide by the year 2020. In India, the total cancer cases alone are likely to go up from 979,786 cases in the year 2010 to 1,148,757 cases in the year 2020.

The profession of Social work, especially medical and health social work must take this opportunity in order to survive and thrive in this fluctuating and complex environment in which it is reduced to a supporting role. Social workers must either accept this challenge to change and re-evaluate the services provided and expand their horizon of works or lose the opportunity to be players in the field of cancer prevention and cancer care.

[This is an extract from my Research Paper titled: Exploring the Role of Social Work in Cancer Care and Cancer Prevention submitted to the Dept. of Social Work, Jamia Millia Islamia (New Delhi) and conducted in BRAIRCH of All India Institute of Medical Science (New Delhi) between September 2011 – March 2012 ]

HEALTH CARE AS HUMAN RIGHTS

THE HUMAN RIGHTS BASED APPROACH TO HEALTH CARE

Health is a fundamental human right indispensable for the exercise of other human rights. Every human being is entitled to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health conducive to living a life in dignity.[1] - (International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 2000)

The human right to health means that everyone has the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, which includes access to all medical services without any kind of discrimination. It means that hospitals, clinics, medicines, and doctors’ services must be accessible, available, acceptable, and of good and equal quality for everyone, on an equitable basis, where and when needed.

The design of a health care system must be guided by the following key human rights standards and principles:

• Universal Access: Access to health care must be universal, guaranteed for all on an equitable basis. Health care must be affordable and comprehensive for everyone, and physically accessible where and when needed.
• Availability: Adequate health care infrastructure (e.g. hospitals, community health facilities, trained health care professionals), goods (e.g. drugs, equipment), and services (e.g. primary care, mental health) must be available in all geographical areas and to all communities.
• Acceptability and Dignity: Health care institutions and providers must respect dignity, provide culturally appropriate care, be responsive to needs based on gender, age, culture, language, and different ways of life and abilities. They must respect medical ethics and protect confidentiality.
• Quality: All health care must be medically appropriate and of good quality, guided by quality standards and control mechanisms, and provided in a timely, safe, and patient-centred manner.

The human right to health also entails the following procedural principles, which apply to all human rights:

• Non-Discrimination: Health care must be accessible and provided without discrimination (in intent or effect) based on health status, race, ethnicity, age, sex, sexuality, disability, language, religion, national origin, income, or social status.
• Transparency: Health information must be easily accessible for everyone, enabling people to protect their health and claim quality health services. Institutions that organize, finance or deliver health care must operate in a transparent way.
• Participation: Individuals and communities must be able to take an active role in decisions that affect their health, including in the organization and implementation of health care services.
• Accountability: Private companies and public agencies must be held accountable for protecting the right to health care through enforceable standards, regulations, and independent compliance monitoring.

 The Human Right to Health is protected by international laws and Indian laws as in:

• Article 25.1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms: ‘Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services’.
• Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights that affirm: Health is a fundamental human right indispensable for the exercise of other human rights. Every human being is entitled to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health conducive to living a life in dignity.
• Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child;
• Article 5 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination;
• Articles 12 & 14 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women;
• Article 25 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;
• Article 21 of the Indian Constitution that prescribe right to life and personal liberty -the Supreme Court has brought Article 21 to prescribes for the right to health, along with numerous other civil, political and economic rights, etc.
• Various articles under the Directive Principle of State Policy and Health: Article 38 imposes liability on State to secure a social order for the promotion of welfare of the people, Article 39(e) related with workers to protect their health, Article 41 imposed duty on State to public assistance basically for those who are sick and disable and Article 42 makes provision to protect the health of infant and mother by maternity benefit. Besides, Article 47 considers it the primary duty of the state to improve public health, securing of justice, human condition of works, extension of sickness, old age, disablement and maternity benefits and also contemplated.

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[1] General Comment No. 14 (2000) (1), Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

tags: zo, zomi, zogam, lamka

Categories of Victims and Phases of Disaster

(This is part of my assignment on "types of disaster and psycho-social impact of disaster", references are given at the end)

1. Categories of Victims of Disaster

2. Phases of Disaster

1. CATEGORIES OF VICTIMS OF DISASTER

Almost everyone in the population is affected by a disaster. No one is untouched by it. Those who suffer damage are called victims. The victims may die or live. Those who manage to live are called survivors. These survivors can be classified as follow (CRED, 2010):

VICTMS	DEFINITIONS & EXAMPLES
Primary Survivor	One who is exposed to the disaster first-hand and then survives. They are called ‘survivor victims’. Intervention is primarily for them since they are the most highly impacted amongst the victims. Survival guilt (“why don’t I die with my family?”) is very high among primary survivor.
Secondary Survivor	One who grieves the loss of primary victims, Eg. A mother who lost her child, or a man who lost his friend. Self-blame (“I should have done this”) is common among secondary survivor.
Third Level Survivor	The rescue and relief personnel who are exposed to the devastation and sufferings of people are also highly affected by the disaster. They undergo almost the same mental trauma as the other victims.
Fourth Level Survivor	Reporters, government personnel, traders, etc.
Fifth Level Survivor	People who read about or see the event in media reports.

2. PHASES OF DISASTER

Disasters are not totally discrete events. Their possibility of occurrence, time, place and severity of the strike can be reasonably and in some cases accurately predicted by technological and scientific advances. It has been established that there is a definite pattern in their occurrences and hence we can to some extent reduce the psychosocial impact of damage though we cannot reduce the extent of damage itself.

There are a number of disaster phases that have been identified by mental health professionals (CRACC, 2008). Each of these phases is associated with emotional and behavioural elements, although there is often overlap.

(i) Pre-disaster Warning: The length of this phase depends on the event. For flooding, there are usually several days of warning that give people time to prepare, but for tsunami the warning might be short, while earthquake may not come with a warning.

(ii) Impact/Inventory (within hours): People may be temporarily stunned or confused as the disaster strikes, but they quickly recover and focus on protecting themselves and those close to them. Emotions include fear, helplessness, loss, dislocation, and feeling responsible ("I should have done more"). The inventory phase immediately follows the event as people start forming a preliminary picture of individual and community conditions. Emotions are wide-ranging as the extent of the impact is realized.

(iii) Heroic (up to 1 – 2 weeks): Throughout these first phases and afterward, people are responding to demands for heroic action to save the lives and property of others. Altruism is prominent. And people are willing to put forth major energy to help others survive and recover.

(iv) Honeymoon (1 – 24 weeks): This phase generally extends from one week to six months after the disaster. For those most directly affected, there is a strong sense of having shared with others a dangerous, catastrophic situation. For the community, there is a sense of cohesion and working together to recover. Relief efforts are in full swing, and hopes of a quick recovery run high. The emotions associated with this phase range from gratitude and hope to grief and continued disbelief.

(v) Disillusionment (2 months – 2 years): This phase can last from two months up to two years. The realities of recovery set in, and people experience feelings of disappointment, frustration, anger, resentment and bitterness if setbacks occur and promises of assistance are not fulfilled or are seen as too little, too late. Outside relief agencies and volunteers leave and some local community groups may weaken. Those most directly affected realize they have much to do themselves and their lives may never be the same. The ‘shared community’ feeling may gradually be lost as people concentrate on rebuilding their own lives and solving individual problems. Emotions are likely to include self-doubt, loss, grief, and isolation.

(vi) Coming to terms/Reconstruction (2 -5 and Lifetime): This phase generally lasts for several years after the disaster. Survivors focus on rebuilding their homes, businesses, farms and lives. The appearance of construction and new buildings, and development of new programs and plans bolster residents' belief and pride in community and in their own individual abilities to rebuild. But this process can be marked by ups and downs as anniversary and other events trigger emotional reactions, and if signs of progress are delayed.

It is important to understand the various phases of disaster because adopting the most appropriate approach right after the onset of disaster can make a big difference in the long-term, especially in the sphere of dealing and coping with the psycho-social impact.

TYPES OF DISASTER

(This is part of my assignment on types of disaster and psycho-social impact of disaster, references are given at the end)

1. Introduction

2. Concept of Disaster

3. Types of Disaster

1. INTRODUCTION

Disaster is a phenomenon that causes huge damage to life, property and destroys the economic, social and cultural life of people. It is a tragic event with great loss stemming from events such as earthquakes, floods, catastrophic accidents, fires, riots or explosions.

Every disaster results in deaths and injuries, damages and destructions, which are always visible. What are not always visible are the mental agony, trauma and stress of the survivors who have suffered losses of their near and dear or sustained damages of their assets and property.

Often such invisible impacts of disasters escape the notices of decision makers as well as rescuers till the affected people crowd the hospitals or suicide rates go up. Often such distress has continued for long after the initial outpouring of goodwill and charity of the general public and attention of media had died down, and even after the physical damages have been restored and reconstructed. Early recognition and proper intervention could have prevented many such prolonged agonies.

Today, there has been recognition of the need and importance of psychosocial intervention in the aftermath of a disaster. This has encouraged innovative research and practices that contributed to the knowledge base in disaster management more than ever before.

This paper will attempt to explain the concept of disaster and explain in details the various types of disasters. Then it will analyse the psycho-social impact of disaster on the individual, family and the community, and conclude with what kind of social work intervention can be undertaken.

2. CONCEPT OF DISASTER

- Disaster is “any occurrence that causes damage, ecological disruption, loss of human life, deterioration of health and health services, on a scale sufficient to warrant an extraordinary response from outside the affected community or area” (WHO, 1992)

- Disaster means a catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any area arising from natural or manmade causes, or by accident or negligence which results in substantial loss of life or human suffering or damage to, and destruction of property or damage to/degradation of environment and is of such a nature of magnitude as to be beyond the coping capacity of the community of the affected area (DM Act 2005, GOI).

Disaster is a serious disruption of the functioning of a society, causing widespread human, material, or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected society to cope using only its own resources.

Thus, by definition itself, there cannot be a perfect ideal system that prevents damage, because then it would not be a disaster. It has to suffocate our ability and capacity to recover. Only then it can be called as disaster.

In contemporary academia, disasters are seen as the consequence of inappropriately managed risk. These risks are the product of a combination of both hazard/s and vulnerability. Hazards that strike in areas with low vulnerability are not considered a disaster, as is the case in uninhabited regions. For instance, a mud-slide in the jungle of the Amazon may not be a disaster, but a mud-slide in the poverty-stricken slum clusters of Mumbai definitely is a disaster.

Hazard refers to any phenomenon, substance or situation that has the potential to cause disruption or damage to infrastructure and services, people, property and environment. Capacity is the resources and skills people possess, and can be develop, mobilize and access that will allow them to have more control over shaping their own future and coping with disaster risks. Vulnerability is a concept that describes factors or constraints of an economic, social, psychological, physical and geographic nature, which reduce the ability of a community to prepare for and cope with the impact of hazards. Risk is the probability that negative consequences may arise when hazards interact with vulnerable areas, people, property and environment.

The damages caused by disasters are immeasurable and varies with the geographical locations, climate and the degree of vulnerability. Those related to weather and the earth’s geology like tsunami, earthquake, hurricane, cyclone, flood, etc. are the most widely recognized. However recent events like Fukishima Nuclear Leak in Japan (2011) and the Godhra Communal riot in Gujarat (2002), etc., point out that the sources and kind of damages are more complicated.

3. TYPES OF DISASTER

It is important to understand various kinds of disasters because depending upon the actual nature of disaster, the immediate reaction needs to be different. Understanding of each kind of disaster might also help in identifying the onset of a disastrous event, so that appropriate actions can be undertaken at all stages which could have a major impact on the final outcome in terms of amount of final loss.

Disasters are classified in various ways. Based on the time it takes to strike, disasters may occur suddenly (sudden disaster) like earth-quake and tsunami, or they may develop over a period of time (a slow onset) like climate change, famines caused by years of drought. However, disasters are commonly categorized by their origin –natural disaster and man-made disaster. Based on the scale of devastation and damage it caused, natural and man-made disasters are further classified into major/minor natural disaster and major/minor man-made disaster.

3.1 Natural Disaster

Natural disasters are primarily natural events. It is possible that certain human activities could maybe aid in some of these events, but, by and large, these are mostly natural events. A natural disaster is a consequence when a natural calamity affects humans and/or their built environment.

Among various natural hazards, earthquakes, landslides, floods and cyclones are the major disasters adversely affecting very large areas and population in the Indian sub-continent. These natural disasters are of (i) geophysical origin such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, land-slides and (ii) climatic origin such as drought, flood, cyclone, locust, forest fire, etc.

Natural Disasters can be broken into different categories based on its origin and cause as given in the table below.

CATEGORIES	DEFINITIONS & EXAMPLES
Geophysical Disasters	Those events originating from solid earth, e.g. earth-quake, volcano, landslide, etc.
Hydrological Disasters	Those events caused by deviations in the normal water cycle and/or overflow of body of water caused by wind set-up. Eg. flood, storm, coastal flood, etc.
Meteorological Disaster	Those events caused by short-lived/small to meso-scale atmospheric process (in the spectrum from minutes to days). Eg. tropical cyclone, hurricane, storm, tornado, etc
Climatological Disaster	Those events caused by long-lived/meso- to macro-scale processes (in the spectrum from intra-seasonal to multi-decadal climate variability). Eg. heat wave, cold wave, drought, etc.
Biological Disaster	Those disaster caused by the exposure of living organisms to germs and toxic substances, Eg. epidemic, plague, diseases, insect infestation, etc.

Source: CRED (2010)

For some type of natural disaster, it is possible to predict disaster to some extent, however it is not possible to control nature and to stop the development of natural phenomena but efforts could be made to avoid disasters and alleviate their effects on human lives, infrastructure and property through disaster management.

3.2 Man-made Disaster

Anthropogenic hazards or man-made disaster can come to fruition in the form of a man-made disaster. In this case, "anthropogenic" means threats having an element of human intent, negligence, or error; or involving a failure of a man-made system. This is opposed to natural disasters resulting from natural hazards.

Man-made disasters cover a wide range of events created largely due to accidents, negligence or sometimes even by human design, which result in huge loss of lives and property every year all over the world. These include road, rail, river, marine and aviation accidents, oil spill, building and bridge collapse, bomb blast, industrial and chemical accidents etc. These also include the threats of nuclear, biological and chemical disasters.

Man-made disaster can be divided into different categories viz. sociological disaster, technological disaster, transportation disaster and hazardous or CBRNs disaster.

CATEGORIES	DEFINITIONS & EXAMPLES
Sociological Disaster	It includes those disasters like war, civil disorder, communal riots, crimes, arson and terrorism
Technological Disaster	It includes those disasters like industrial accidents, fire, structural collapse, etc.
Transportation Disaster	It includes those disasters related to accident of train, aeroplane, ship, etc.
Hazardous or CBRNs Disaster	It includes those disasters related to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CNRN) accidents

Source: CRED (2010)

The extent of damage caused by man-made disasters varies greatly and while this is the case, it is important to state that others have notably high costs when compared to others. This is especially true when it comes down to responding and recovering. Additionally, there are different factors which influence the costs such as location. For instance, if this were to occur in densely populated but wealthy countries, the end result might prove to be huge. However, if the same were to occur in densely populated but poor countries, the after effect costs might prove to be lower and this is in part closely tied to insurance.