Analysis How Kenya’s emergency response unit should be set up, funded

Today, the Kenya Red Cross is the only visible face of national emergency response in the country. Kenya needs a national apex body co-ordinating various relief activities and teams. PHOTO | FILE 

By GEORGE WACHIRA

In Summary

• A team should identify potential catastrophes, prevent or reduce their impacts.

I watched the coverage of the earthquake calamity in Nepal and noted how helpless and fragile a nation can be in the face of such a disaster.

Without international assistance, Nepal could not have mustered sufficient resources to effectively respond. However, each nation needs to have in place some institutional preparedness for initial rapid response and systems to mobilise follow-up.

Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis are “acts of God” and are mostly unpredictable in location, timing and magnitude.

Other “lesser” nature-caused disasters include hurricanes, floods, severe droughts and famines which have a habit of recurring in the same locations.

This category of disasters has usually been associated with the impacts of global warming. These can, to some extent, be predicted and basic response prepared.

Others are attributable to human negligence (errors of omission or commission) and which can be prevented or minimised if due care and compliance are emphasised. These preventable incidents include fires, collapsing buildings, transport-related incidents, and also disease epidemics.

Finally, we have incidents which are associated with human “ill-intention”. These include terrorist incidents which can either involve real-time shooting (Garissa, Westgate, for example) or sabotage such as the 1998 US Embassy bombing.

This group of emergencies also includes civil unrest and ethnic skirmishes which have socio-political origins and can be prevented through political engagements.

The list above is what can go wrong in Kenya. It is such an analysis of potential disasters that should inform preparation of a national disaster preparedness plan.

I am not sure we have such a plan in place, and if one exists then it is neither well publicised nor effectively implemented.

From observations, Kenya is frequently caught unawares by disasters and, for this reason, misses many opportunities to minimise loss of life and property.

Repeat disasters have happened at the same or different locations, mostly because of failing to learn from experience.

One can bet that the recent floods in Nairobi and Narok will repeat themselves in the same location and with similar destructive impact. This will be the case unless corrective actions are taken.

A typical national emergency preparedness plan identifies potential disasters and puts in place institutions, systems and resources to either prevent such disasters or reduce their destructive impact. An effective plan should always be ready.

The nature and location of readiness should be as varied as there are different potential disasters.