Driver Category 1.3
Unequal exposure to accidents, disasters and environmental risks
This driver relates to the unequal distribution of risks to life and the poor health outcomes for certain groups due to exposure to certain risks and hazards.
It covers unequal exposure to natural disasters as well as to other forms of environmental risks (such as air pollution). However, it also covers man-made risks related to health and safety (in relation to the workplace, use of transport and road traffic, poor quality of housing infrastructure and rented accommodation) and living conditions which lead to higher risks of death, accidents and health problems for certain groups.
Trends towards increasing deregulation including in terms of health and safety, construction and environmental standards, with implications for premature death and poor health, are captured by this driver category. Both poor regulation and poor enforcement of standards (in relation to the workplace, housing, public transport and road safety) are included here.
Guiding Questions
Infrastructure safety and security
- Do housing and land-use policies emphasize construction of houses that are safe given the risk of natural disasters present in that region (e.g. floods, mudslides, hurricanes, earthquakes)?
- Are there rules to prevent building in hazardous zones?
- Are there adequate and enforceable building standards to ensure construction is in zones that are safe to build on and that buildings can withstand natural disasters?
- Is there a difference between neighbourhoods when it comes to construction standards and the risk and vulnerability of communities to natural disasters?
- Which neighbourhoods have adequately constructed and protected houses?
- Is social housing built according to appropriate safety and security standards?
- Are there major safety problems related to the standard of housing, particularly rental properties?
- What proportion of the existing public and social housing stock would be rated substandard?
- What policies are there to improve substandard public and social housing?
Disaster risk reduction and management
- Does the government have a disaster risk reduction policy?
- What institutions and investment exists in relation to emergency planning?
- Does the government have functioning weather data systems and early warning systems?
Road traffic and public transport safety and security
- What information is available on the safety of users travelling on different modes of transport?
- Is information collected on transport-related deaths and the incidence of accidents and fatalities on different modes of transportation (e.g. moto-taxis vs. buses)?
- How does the risk of being killed in a transport accident compare between rural and urban areas?
Environmental risks, policy and regulation
- What are the most polluting industries/sectors about which there is highest public concern?
- Is information available on the risks to public health from different kinds of environmental pollution (e.g. from pollution of drinking water, air pollution, solid waste pollution, soil pollution, hazardous and industrial waste handling, environmental noise)?
- Where are the biggest problems in your country?
- Where are the biggest knowledge gaps?
- What regulatory agency/ies is/are charged with designing and enforcing environmental regulations related to public health?
- What information is available on the activities of the regulatory agency – its investigations, violations identified and sanctions applied?
- Is the regulator able to properly enforce standards and hold companies accountable?
Indicators
Potential indicators to monitor the drivers of inequalities in this main driver category
- Amount spent on slum upgrading programmes
- Amount spent on disaster risk reduction infrastructure efforts by location
- Number of companies breaching clean air and other standards
- Number of staff employed by the environmental standards regulator and annual budget of the regulator
- Number of violations recorded in relation to environmental standards that protect human health
Candidate Policies
To see related Candidate Policies in this main driver category please click here.