Vulnerability and capacity assessment guidelines

Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (VCA) uses various participatory tools to gauge people’s exposure to and capacity to resist natural hazards. It is an integral part of disaster preparedness and contributes to the creation of community-based disaster preparedness programmes at the rural and urban grass-roots level.

VCA enables local priorities to be identified and appropriate action taken to reduce disaster risk and assists in the design and development of programmes that are mutually supportive and responsive to the needs of the people most closely concerned.

The aims of VCA are to:

assess risks and hazards facing communities and the capacities they have for dealing with them;

involve communities, local authorities and humanitarian and development organizations in the assessment from the outset;

draw up action plans to prepare for and respond to the identified risks;

identify risk-reduction activities to prevent or lessen the effects of expected hazards, risks and vulnerabilities.