King's College London

The Sendai Framework and Sustainable Development Goals call for action to build back better in ways that leave no one behind. At the same time, ensuring local voice is increasingly central to humanitarian action. These ambitions contrast with limited analysis on how local actors might be supported through response and recovery so that no one is left behind, nor how far recommendations are specific or generalisable across richer and poorer country contexts. Starting with lessons learnt from the experience of survivors and community organisations in post-disaster Sint Maarten, a high-income state-led response, these are contrasted with priorities derived from lower income, humanitarian-led responses. Resulting differences reflect the importance of economic resources as the basis for individual self-reliance and a fragmented civil society with limited ambitions for leadership in Sint Maarten. Strong cross-cultural alignment nevertheless allows for a globally relevant and yet contextually sensitive framework for survivor led response and reconstruction.