Governments cannot effectively manage and handle disasters, particularly at the local community level, without actively engaging vulnerable people. The key to achieving sustainability in disaster recovery is community participation and information dissemination. The informal settlements’ lack of access to information and public engagement hampered their ability to recovery, thus prompting this study. Therefore, many cities and intervention partnerships faced information and participation gaps in disaster risk reduction (DRR). The study’s rationale was to determine the participation and communication of Khayalitjha household heads, regarding DRR information dissemination for sustainable human settlement, using a cross-sectional household survey of 295 household heads from Khayalitjha in situ informal settlement in the Free State provinces of South Africa. The security of dwelling unit tenure concept was an indirect indicator used to measure social resilience. The key findings revealed that community volunteers, ward committee members and most of the respondents, were responsible for initiating the DRR and disaster preparedness planning process. This indicated that local government needs to strengthen the human resource capacity building for DRR management information dissemination at a local level. The church, school, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram were the preferred modes of communication for early warnings of disaster information. Contribution: Despite advocating for a multidisciplinary stakeholder approach, urban DRR studies tend to ignore communities in high disaster-risk areas. Employing social resilience, it aims to extend the DRR information dissemination strategy to in situ informal settlements beyond the communication and public participation advocacy strategies of local municipal urban cities.

The study assessed the knowledge, attitudes and practices of cholera prevention and preparedness in Ga-Mampuru village (Limpopo, South Africa). Interviewers collected data using a two-pronged method, namely a household questionnaire (open- and closed-ended questions) to assess knowledge and attitudes about cholera and observations to assess practices in the prevention and management of the disease. Additionally, interviewers took pictures with the respondents’ permission. Ninety-six respondents were interviewed. Most respondents (86%) indicated they knew how cholera was contracted with 84% indicating contaminated water as a source. Ninety percent of the respondents indicated they knew how to prevent contracting cholera. All respondents generally knew that cholera could be treated with medicine received at a health-care facility or worker. Fewer respondents (58%) had specific knowledge such as the use of rehydration solutions. The respondents’ high level of prevention practices could be biased. Interviewers observed that many practices were not adhered to, like not washing hands, not using toilet paper and throwing waste in respondents’ yards. Therefore, the community of Ga-Mampuru had not reached a stage of adequate cholera prevention and preparedness in spite of the fact that they were aware of cholera risks and risk-reduction measures.

Communities around the world living in either urban or rural areas continue to experience serious WASH problems during flood episodes. Communities and individual households are affected differently depending on their coping capacities and their resource base. Flooding causes extensive damage to water and sanitation infrastructure, leaving communities vulnerable to WASH-related illnesses. This paper aimed to analyze factors influencing the community WASH experiences during flood incidences in Tsholotsho District using a Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) model. The quantitative approach was used in this study. A questionnaire was used to collect data from household heads in Tsholotsho District. A total of 218 Questionnaires were administered in four wards that were purposively selected for this study. Gathered data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 22) and principal component analysis was done, which culminated in a SUR model. The key findings of the study were that outbreaks of water and hygiene-related diseases, ponding of water which provides a breeding ground for mosquitoes, and contamination of surface water were the major WASH problems experienced in Tsholotsho District among other problems. The study also found that access to Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) programs, access to treated water, and level of education were positive and statistically significant in influencing some of the problems experienced during flooding. To increase the coping capacities of Tsholotsho communities, it is pertinent for governments and NGOs to consider implementing more WASH programs, increasing access to safe and clean drinking water, and increasing the level of education of communities.

Climate change contributes toward many global challenges, such as increases in diseases in some communities, thereby accelerating health hazards to disasters. Establishing the extent to which local communities understand and perceive climate change and related health hazards is important for effective disaster risk management strategies. The objective of this study was to investigate communities’ perceptions of health hazards induced by climate change in Mount Darwin district of Zimbabwe. This was in the light that besides the visible indications that climate is changing, the local people still perceive the climate change phenomenon as mystical or even a non-event. The study was situated within the social capital theory contextualised within the climate change, disaster management and the knowledge and perception realm constructed through social relationships, networks and interactions. A mixed-method research approach was used to assess the extent of knowledge and perceptions related to climate change and climate change-related health hazards. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to survey 204 participants from 10 wards in Mount Darwin, Zimbabwe. Respondents were purposively selected as they were mostly characterised by high vulnerability levels. While 38% of the respondents were not aware of climate change, 7% correctly identified climate change as caused by both natural and man-made forces. Most (89%) of the respondents stated that hazards occur mainly because of meteorological and hydrological causes. The study therefore recommended further education and awareness programmes to deepen community understanding of climate change. Despite the communities having some knowledge gaps and lacking an in-depth understanding of how climate change alters disease, there was some vital information within the Mount Darwin community that could have been used in local disaster risk management initiatives.

The study assessed the roles of women and the ownership of land trends in Lesotho, particularly during the 2015/2016 drought in Lesotho. A mixed-method approach, which combined both qualitative and quantitative research approaches, and a semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data. The collected data included demographic information, household assets, gender roles in agricultural activities, and decision-making in the household to explore feminization of agriculture and its impact on household food security in Lesotho, particularly Maneo village in the Mohales’ Hoek district. The results showed that even though the women were the majority of farmers, they were not involved in decision-making, did not own the land, lacked farming implements, used poor and archaic farming methods, and were subjected to institutionalized gender discrimination. This resulted in a food deficit, worsened by the drought in the southern districts, particularly in Maneo village. Despite the fact that land was owned by men, the women worked hard without having any rights to land ownership. This contributed to women’s poverty. The study recommended including gender role assessments and clarity on gendered policies addressing discrimination in Lesotho, especially for women.

This article assesses the socio-economic coping and adaptation mechanisms employed by sub-Saharan African migrant women in South Africa using a survey and multi-attribute contingent ratings. The socio-economic and adaptation mechanisms were identified using a sustainable livelihood framework, which included political and cultural capital. This study focused on the rarely investigated South-South migration flows. The results found that the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of migrant women played a significant role in the coping and adaptation mechanisms they employed. Human capital ranked the highest, followed by physical, cultural, social, economic and political capitals. This implies that the livelihood capital has an implication: the migrant women need to have education and health services to survive in day-to-day activities of their life as human capital. They need also to sustain economically at least to cover house rent, food, communicate with family and assist the family as economic and physical capitals. Furthermore, they need to adapt, respect and live with the culture of the host nation in harmony and conducive environment as social, cultural and political capitals.