Crystalizing Disaster Risk Reduction efforts into a National Action Plan for Kenya


Caroline Njogu | April 18, 2016

A break away session during the workshop. Photo: CWS

A break away session during the workshop. Photo: CWS

A few weeks ago, I was privileged to represent CWS at the National Disaster Risk Reduction workshop in Naivasha, Kenya. This workshop was organized by the Kenyan National Ministry of Interior and Coordination in conjunction with the Office of the United Nations Strategy for Disaster Reduction and UN Women.

Last year the United Nations adopted what is known as the Sendai Framework, adopted during the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan. This Framework lays out priorities for action for preparing for and mitigating the effects of disasters. The workshop that I attended aimed to plan and identify key priorities for DRR in Kenya in 2016 ahead of the formulation of a DRR National Plan of Action. This plan would contextualize and operationalize the Sendai Framework in Kenya.

For two days, stakeholders including CWS deliberated on key areas of attention. These included mapping DRR activities, DRR investments and monitoring and evaluation of DRR.

One major achievement from the conference was the formation of working groups to improve the national monitoring and evaluation of Kenya’s National Disaster Risk Reduction Action plan. These working groups will increase the resilience and capacity of communities to address the long term factors that undermine their ability to respond to disasters. CWS, under the umbrella of the ACT Alliance, has been included in these working groups.

The group that CWS is part of seeks to address issues regarding “Investing in Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience.” This means that we will work towards making DRR management and mapping more mainstream in the communities we serve. It also means strengthening the livelihoods and assets of communities, including livestock.

Strong communities – communities that have food security, clean water access and thriving livelihoods, to name a few attributes – are better equipped to respond to disasters and will ultimately have a shorter and more complete recovery. By strengthening the communities that CWS serves, we can also promote DRR.

Caroline Njogu is the RDP Emergency Response and DRR Coordinator at CWS.

Click here to learn more about the Sendai Framework, including CWS’s participation in the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.