Early recovery refers to an approach that addresses immediate recovery needs following a humanitarian even (such as an environmental disaster) through humanitarian mechanisms in a way that aligns with sustainable development principles. Early recovery aims to build a foundation for development practice and often focuses on local ownership and capacity strengthening. The early recovery process is an opportunity for humanitarian actors to engage in meaningful consultations with local organisations and groups to understand the needs of communities so that humanitarian responses (and later development programs) will meet these needs.
Diverse SOGIE people and communities are often excluded from early recovery processes as a result of societal marginalisation, including reduced access to decision-making, underrepresentation in local government or authoritative bodies, and due to the oversight or bias of humanitarian workers. This exclusion perpetuates invisibility and marginalisation. Exclusion from this important process not only has negative consequences for humanitarian responses but also means future development programming will be designed in the absence of input from sexual and gender minorities.
The resources available in the early recovery category cover an array of topics including: shelter and livelihoods implications of exclusion; importance of understanding the needs of diverse SOGIE communities when designing humanitarian response and development programming; and examples of early recovery exclusion.
