About this Research Topic
Food insecurity and ill health challenges are particularly critical in regions which are prone to multiple vulnerabilities and are at risk of natural hazards and disasters. These are areas characterized by both a ‘strong climate signal’ and concentration of vulnerable populations, and can be defined as geographic regions of compound risk that might be regarded as particularly susceptible to a changing climate. Specifically in the immediate aftermath of natural hazards or disasters, communities are often affected by lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities and face multiple food security and health crises. Short term impacts of the natural hazards often receive more visibility and cover within the purview of recovery options. However, addressing food and drinking water insecurity in the longer-term context for climate induced hazards is paramount to achieve the sustainable development in the region.
Disaster struck households often lose access to safe drinking water and sanitation, which results in a higher risk of water borne diseases (such as typhoid fever, cholera), and vector borne diseases (such as malaria, dengue and yellow fever). Access to food and quality of consumed food can also decrease drastically due to massive crop failures, which can lead to hunger and in the long term translate into malnutrition and escalate vulnerable livelihoods for the affected populations. Low income countries and the poorest communities are often most affected which exacerbates the existing socio-economic inequalities. Given the new context of COVID-19 pandemic, we are also witnessing the unprecedented combined impacts of the disasters and the ongoing pandemic in already fragile economies. It is anticipated that the impact of these crises will continue to have long term consequences in the decades to come.
This Research Topic aims to provide new evidence on this critical issue and contribute to the ongoing policy development on both disaster risk reduction and crisis management. We are particularly interested in multidisciplinary research papers, as well as papers clearly focusing on policy aspects; however all relevant papers will be carefully considered during the review.
Under the above thematic area, we encourage the submission of articles addressing the following themes:
I. The impact of natural hazards and disasters on food crises (including price fluctuations, food availability, malnutrition risks)
II. The impact of natural hazards and disasters on health crises (including water born and vector born diseases) and possible risk prevention and crises management within the health systems
III. The interface between natural hazards and COVID-19 pandemic
IV. Science-policy-practice mechanisms to inform disaster preparedness and crisis management
V. Governance mechanisms to strengthen the prevention and management of food and health crises in the context of disasters and multiple hazards
VI. Multiple hazard cascading and food insecurity in COVID-19 crisis
VII. Community coping mechanisms during natural hazards
Disaster struck households often lose access to safe drinking water and sanitation, which results in a higher risk of water borne diseases (such as typhoid fever, cholera), and vector borne diseases (such as malaria, dengue and yellow fever). Access to food and quality of consumed food can also decrease drastically due to massive crop failures, which can lead to hunger and in the long term translate into malnutrition and escalate vulnerable livelihoods for the affected populations. Low income countries and the poorest communities are often most affected which exacerbates the existing socio-economic inequalities. Given the new context of COVID-19 pandemic, we are also witnessing the unprecedented combined impacts of the disasters and the ongoing pandemic in already fragile economies. It is anticipated that the impact of these crises will continue to have long term consequences in the decades to come.
This Research Topic aims to provide new evidence on this critical issue and contribute to the ongoing policy development on both disaster risk reduction and crisis management. We are particularly interested in multidisciplinary research papers, as well as papers clearly focusing on policy aspects; however all relevant papers will be carefully considered during the review.
Under the above thematic area, we encourage the submission of articles addressing the following themes:
I. The impact of natural hazards and disasters on food crises (including price fluctuations, food availability, malnutrition risks)
II. The impact of natural hazards and disasters on health crises (including water born and vector born diseases) and possible risk prevention and crises management within the health systems
III. The interface between natural hazards and COVID-19 pandemic
IV. Science-policy-practice mechanisms to inform disaster preparedness and crisis management
V. Governance mechanisms to strengthen the prevention and management of food and health crises in the context of disasters and multiple hazards
VI. Multiple hazard cascading and food insecurity in COVID-19 crisis
VII. Community coping mechanisms during natural hazards
Keywords: food crises, health crises, disasters, natural hazards, risk reduction, recovery
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
