Disaster Preparedness Plan And Development In Kenya

Disaster Preparedness Plan And Development In Kenya

        Republic of Kenya is one country that has a vast history of being at the receiving end of numerous natural and man-made disasters. In fact, the list of disasters in Kenya almost goes on endlessly. Some of these major disasters that happened in Kenya include El Nino floods, Kyanguli fire disaster, droughts, poverty, USA embassy bombing, ethnic clashes in the coastal region, health-related disasters such as malaria and HIV/AIDS and frequently occurring political conflicts that result in massive loss of lives, property and displacement of people. Over the years, Kenya did not have a proper disaster preparedness plan. However, the situation seems to be changing in the recent times with the intervention of several national and international organizations including the International Red Cross Society.

        As per the International Red Cross Society, every country should have an effective disaster preparedness plan so as to respond to the disaster in an effective way. Any disaster should be first handled at the local level by local organizations. An international response is then built up on these local efforts.

        Under the disaster preparedness plan, the Government of Kenya is doing a lot to ensure that preventive measures are properly in place so as to reduce the impact caused by these dangers. Some of the achievements include

1. Installation of early warning systems and weather forecasts
2. Development of local disaster management teams. These teams are structured in accordance with the disasters that frequently happen at a particular place. In order to know about the disasters happening at one place, information and data is gathered from the local people and accordingly a disaster preparedness plan is developed. Training is also provided to disaster management teams at the local level.
3. Disaster committees comprising of government, non-government, national and international agencies.
4. Creating public awareness and imparting education to local people regarding health-related issues so as to reduce the spread of conditions like HIV/AIDS and other infections.

        All these plans are a step towards improvement. There are several other challenges that the country is facing and is looking for ways to tackle them. Some of these include poverty, illiteracy, extreme weather conditions and increased crime rate.