Care in Crisis Contexts
Care in crisis contexts refers to how care needs are met and how care systems continue to function during extraordinary situations such as natural disasters, pandemics, economic shocks, armed conflicts, and forced displacement. During these periods, care needs often increase while care infrastructures become disrupted, shifting responsibilities onto households and particularly onto women. Children, older adults, disabled people, and individuals with chronic health conditions are often disproportionately affected by crises. Their wellbeing depends not only on emergency response systems but also on the continuity of everyday care, support services, and community networks. Building resilient public care systems and strengthening community-based support structures are therefore essential for preparedness, response, and recovery. Care is not an auxiliary concern during crises; it is a critical foundation of collective resilience and social recovery.
CURRENT STATISTICS
108
More than 108.4 million people worldwide have been forcibly displaced due to conflict, violence, and disasters. Children, older adults, disabled people, and others with care needs face heightened risks in displacement contexts.
5x
During the COVID-19 pandemic, women in many countries took on an average of five additional hours of unpaid care work per week compared to men, highlighting how crises often deepen existing care inequalities.
Children, older adults, and disabled people are consistently among the groups most disproportionately affected by disasters and crises. Interruptions in care services, support networks, and public infrastructure further increase these risks.
CURRENT CARE POLICIES
Care Policy Recommendations Tool
At İhtimam, we curate emerging care policy recommendations and translate them into practical guidance for different stakeholders. Select a stakeholder group and thematic area to explore relevant policy recommendations, strategies, and actions from Türkiye and around the world.
THE FUTURE OF CARE
Care Radar
The Care Radar tracks emerging developments, weak signals, and evolving conversations across the care landscape. It is designed to help us understand how care is changing and to explore these shifts through an ethical and systems-oriented lens.
Rising Care Needs During Crises
Natural disasters, pandemics, and other emergencies often lead to a rapid increase in care needs among children, older adults, disabled people, and those with chronic health conditions. Yet emergency preparedness plans frequently overlook the scale and complexity of these care demands.
The Re-Familialization of Care
School closures, strained healthcare systems, and disruptions to public services frequently push care responsibilities back into households. This additional burden is most often absorbed by women.
The Rise of Mutual Aid Networks
Neighborhood groups, friendship networks, and volunteer initiatives often mobilize quickly during crises to organize and provide care. These informal networks fill critical gaps, but their long-term sustainability can be fragile.
The Fragility of Care Infrastructure
Childcare centers, day services, and home care programs can be disrupted rapidly during emergencies and disasters. The resilience of care systems is only beginning to emerge as a policy priority.
Digital Coordination in Emergencies
Messaging platforms, crisis mapping tools, and online coordination systems are making it easier to identify and respond to care needs during emergencies. However, significant inequalities in digital access and participation remain.
The Growing Recognition of Psychosocial Care
Crises increase not only physical care needs but also emotional and psychological ones. Psychosocial support is increasingly being recognized as an essential component of care infrastructure and recovery efforts.
Caregiver Burnout in Protracted Crises
As crises persist over time, caregivers face growing risks of chronic exhaustion, stress, and burnout. Opportunities for rest, respite, and support often remain insufficient.
Care-Sensitive Disaster Planning
There are growing calls to systematically incorporate care needs into disaster preparedness, emergency response, and recovery planning. In many contexts, however, care continues to be treated as a secondary concern.
Shadow Care Chains in Humanitarian Response
Humanitarian and disaster-response initiatives often seek to address care inequalities, yet the care needs of frontline workers, volunteers, and responders frequently remain absent from project design and budgeting. Care responsibilities do not disappear during interventions; they are often displaced and redistributed to other households, communities, and caregivers. As discussions of care justice expand, growing attention is being paid to the hidden care costs embedded within humanitarian response systems.
