Author Profile

Tilly Alcayna

https://hhi.harvard.edu

Institution: Harvard Humanitarian Initiative

Affiliation: Research Consultant | DisasterNet Project

Department: Dept of Global Health and Population

City: Cambridge

State: Massachussets

Country: USA

Tilly Alcayna is a Research Consultant for the DisasterNet project which focuses on supporting local and national capacity for disaster preparedness and response in the Philippines, as part of the Resilient Communities Program. Previously, Tilly has worked in the Philippines, Nepal, Colombia, and South Sudan, conducting disaster risk and health assessments. She is the Director of Futureproof-Ideas an international research consultancy that brings together expertise from different disciplines to generate sustainable solutions to cross-cutting problems related to health, the environment, and society. Previously she has worked for the European Commission, the British Red Cross in the UK Operations Division, and the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) in the Expedition Advisory Centre in London. Tilly holds a Masters in Public Health in Disasters (MPH) jointly from the Universidad de Oviedo, Spain and Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. She also holds a Bachelor in Biological Sciences from the University of Oxford. Her research interests lie in socio-ecological systems, disaster risk reduction, environmental health and humanitarian assistance.

Recent Posts

Resilience and Disaster Trends in the Philippines: Opportunities for National and Local Capacity Building

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Introduction: The Philippines is one of the top countries in the world at risk of climate-related disasters. For populations subsisting at the poverty line in particular, but also the nation as a whole, daily lives and wellbeing are routinely challenged. The Philippines government takes disaster risk seriously and has devoted significant resources to build disaster capacity and reduce population exposure and vulnerability, nationally and locally. This paper explores the policy and institutional mechanisms for disaster risk reduction management and research which have been conducted in the Philippines related to disaster preparedness, management and resilience.  

Methods: This study draws on direct observations of and conversations with disaster management professionals, in addition to a review of the extant literature on resilience and disaster preparedness, in the Philippines. This is a descriptive study based on a search of mainly peer-reviewed studies but also articles, reports, and disaster risk reduction and response projects in the Philippines. Search words used in various combinations included: Resilience, Philippines, Disaster Preparedness, Community-based, Disaster Risk Reduction, Capacity-building.

Results: Numerous activities in community based resilience and DRR have been identified across the whole disaster continuum. Yet, important gaps in research and practice remain.

Discussion: The Philippines, is a leading regional actor in disaster risk management. However, a full picture of who is doing what, how, where and when on resilience and disaster preparedness does not exist. Consequently there is no single study that compares the impacts and results that different preparedness measures are having in the Philippines. We recommend further research focussed on mapping the network of actors, understanding community perceptions of disaster risk preparedness and resilience, and investigation into the socio-ecological systems of different communities.