After any natural
disaster or calamity the importance of non-food Items
(NFIs) is as
significant as the edible items. Both the edible stuff and NFIs provide ease of
living and provide relief to the displaced people. In addition to the dietary
stuff people also need clothes, blankets, sleeping mats, and most importantly
tents to safeguard them from all weather conditions like sun, wind, heat, rain
or cold.
Other important
things include soap, detergent, toiletries, kitchen utensils, fuel cylinders,
solar lights, panels or generators and other things. It is important to keep in
mind women and children have their specific needs like sanitary supplies and
hygiene kits. Pregnant and new mothers have particular needs. Children do need
diapers, toys and mind building instruments.
There are some
important things to be considered before and during the distribution of non-food Items
which are as
follows,
Aiding agencies and
authorities should never make assumptions about the family size. The size of
families may differ after any severe catastrophic situation and so does it
affect the supply and consumption of NFIs. The number of families may increase
or decrease like for instance a member has died or is missing. Families may
include grandparents and cousins that may not have lived together earlier.
Proper research, counting and registration process should be conducted before
the supply of NFIs to make sure they reach every family and individual.
Distribution of all
important stuff must be distributed equally without gender discrimination. When
and who receives the stuff should be noticed to provide the benefits equally to
all the men, women and children.
Women should be
preferred in the Distribution of non-food items (NFIs) in the polygamous societies. Feedback and
research should be conducted to ensure safe and equal distribution of
commodities and modifications should be made where necessary. Access of
children and women should be made easy to the distribution points.
Aiding agencies, authorities and NGOs should keep the population
demographics in mind. They include,
- Total number of households
- Average members of a household
- Number of women whose age range from 13 to
50. This calculation is must for the distribution of sanitary and hygiene kits.
- Number of old people heading households
- Number of male and female heading households
Specific needs of different age groups and categories must
also be taken care off like people with disabilities or who are crippled during
the disaster, severely injured and hurt people, unaccompanied children and
teens, older persons, pregnant women, lactating women and chronically ill
people.
It is also important to notice and consider what non-food
Items
people were
using before any disaster or before getting displaced. What fuel sources were
being used by them, what they eat normally, type of clothes they used to wear
depending on the ethnicity, do they need any specific clothing, what kind of
apparels women and children used to wear, what sanitary and hygiene products
were used by women pre disaster, what special products they will need after the
disaster and lot of other things are to be considered before and during the
distribution of NFIs.