ABSTRACT
Providing adequate shelter is one of the most intractable problems in international humanitarian response. The priority need for strong shelter policies and practice describes in the Humanitarian Emergency Response Review (HERR) report as being such as critical to health, employment, family and safety. Graham Saunders, Head of Shelter and Settlements at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), stated that the sector has failed to develop because the institutions have not advanced their own understanding of the subject despite progress at field level. The first implication for disaster recovery is that decreasing poverty would probably result in stronger dwellings and improved disaster protection. It also discusses four of the most significant dilemmas in disaster recovery management. The need for officials to face complex dilemmas in a positive manner remains a major challenge to anyone who fondly imagines that shelter is a simple problem that demands simple solutions.
