Glossary

Ex ante

Latin for ‘from before’. In the context of disaster events, ex ante instruments are arranged before the event, and ex ante decisions are made at that time as well (Clarke and Dercon 2016).

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other key terms

Anticipatory Action

Actions taken before a crisis hits to prevent or reduce potential disaster impacts prior to a shock or before acute impacts are felt.

Shock-responsive social protection

Social protection systems adapted to scale quickly when large shocks affect many people.

Covariate shocks

Shocks affecting many households at once where losses are shared across the same community.

Disaster risk management

Policies and actions to reduce disaster risks, manage impacts and strengthen resilience.

Hazard

A natural or human process that can cause injury, damage or disruption.

Social protection

Policies and programmes designed to reduce and prevent poverty and vulnerability throughout the life cycle.