THE NEED
In 2017 the World Health Organisation reported from Cox’s Bazar that the highest proportion (24%) of recorded deaths in the refugee camps was due to acute respiratory infection. In children under 5 years old the proportion was even higher at 31%.
WHAT CAN BE DONE ?
One of the main factors that increases the incidence of acute respiratory infections is living in overcrowded and poorly ventilated shelters. The RSK shelter uses a simple innovation that greatly facilitates the building of better ventilated shelters to reduce this hazard .
TAKING THIS FURTHER
Improving health and safety is just one of the many structural advantages of using this shelter innovation to prepare for and respond to large scale disasters. This is a powerful tool in the hands of aid agencies and also, for the first time, in the hands of beneficiaries.
THE SHELTER PILOT
We now have the funding for an RSK shelter pilot that will include assessing these health benefits, but we do not have the capacity to carry out this pilot on our own. We need assistance with providing part of the WASH facilities and monitoring that will be required.
THE IMPACT ON STAKEHOLDERS
Governments will be able to set up preparedness training in communities at risk and can introduce this simple concept through education in schools.
Donor funding will go further due to the massive savings in valuable bamboo resources that the RSK can achieve and its ability to reduce transportation costs by one third.
Aid agencies will be able to benefit from the economic and logistical savings achieved by using the RSK method of shelter construction. The manpower resources they need will be reduced as displaced families will be able to build their own shelter frames at the point of tarpaulin delivery.
Displaced families will be empowered to build their own shelters in emergency situations where there are minimal resources. They will be able to take full advantage of the health and safety benefits afforded by this method of shelter construction. Ultimately they will adapt the RSK's versatility for their specific needs and be able to "personalise" their own shelter for the first time in ways that have not previously been possible.
THE EFFECT ON THE ENVIRONMENT
The environment will benefit from the positive carbon footprint that this shelter delivers. It achieves this by using the same roof frame for both emergency and temporary shelters and thereby saving considerable timber resources that would otherwise be required to build transitional shelters. The shelter pilot will show how the RSK can save huge amounts of bamboo and thereby highlight its importance to maintaining this sustainable but often limited resource.
THE OPPORTUNITY
It is rare that a new type of shelter can directly improve the health of beneficiaries, especially children, and at the same time improve the safety and welfare of dispaced families. If this is a vision your organisation can share with us, please make contact so that together we can begin to make a difference.
Shaun Halbert
Double elevated RSK opened up