Rapid post-disaster community needs assessment: a case study of guatemala after the civil strife of 1979-1983

Disaster assessment and assistance activities are often hampered by organizational problems which diminish the effect of these efforts on the people they are intended to help. Inefficient targeting of relief causes reduced coverage of needy populations and inflated costs. In order to ensure that the most needy populations receive appropriate types and amounts of assistance, collection of assessment data must be at the lowest possible administrative unit. In addition, it is essential that disaster assessment be a dynamic process in which follow-up activities monitor possible changes in vulnerability and need in the targeted populations. This paper presents a method for post-disaster rapid needs assessment at the community level. Indigenous numerators are used to collect data with which communities are served and ranked according to need. Qualitative and quantitative methods are incorporated to provide rapidly a centralised database with which relief organizations can accurately target specific communities for assistance.