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Bolivia
is one of the poorest countries in South America, with 70 percent
of its population living in poverty. The majority of the rural
population lives in fragile and vulnerable conditions due to high
levels of poverty and unemployment, low standards of living, lack
of access to resources, unequal patterns of asset ownership and
distribution, environmental degradation, and slow economic growth.
The most common disasters that strike the country are floods,
droughts, and bushfires. In January 2001, the Bolivian Government
declared a state of emergency in the country after two weeks of
heavy rain killed two people and forced 13,500 families from their
homes. The capital, La Paz, was the most affected area.
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One
month later, another rainstorm hit La Paz, killing 50 people,
injuring 150, and forcing, greater than 300 families from their
homes. The institutional capacities to handle disasters as development
issues in Bolivia are very limited. In the past, disaster management
primarily focused on preparedness. Today, the emphasis is moving
away from a traditional emergency response framework to a preventive
approach that includes risk management. (...)
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