Disasters have devastating consequences. They cause death, injury, disease, the destruction of property and other assets, mass displacement, social and economic disruption, loss of infrastructure and other services, and damage to the environment. The East Africa region is prone to natural hazards such as floods, droughts, earthquakes and landslides; as well as man-made disasters such as urban fires, environmental degradation, water pollution and outbreaks of disease epidemics. However, while we can’t prevent a hazard from occurring in East Africa, we can use disaster risk reduction and management to understand risk and vulnerability, prevent a hazard from becoming a disaster, and mitigate its impact by making people more resilient. 

This Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) course has been designed to provide an in-depth overview of DRRM for humanitarian professionals in East Africa interested in expanding their knowledge on DRRM. It draws on the very latest global practice and theory combined with expert content from East Africa and around the world to advance knowledge and learning on this expanding area of practice and research. In addition to presenting the standard frameworks, it introduces new thinking on vulnerability and risk, on resilience and on urban contexts. 

This course is developed in an interactive way with audio, videos and interviews from humanitarian experts and academic institutions working in this area to really bring key issues and debates around DRRM in East Africa to life. Some key institutions that provided content for this course include Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS), Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS), Makerere University, Nairobi University, Ardhi University and several other subject matter experts in the region. 

This course is self-paced and will take the learner 8 hours to complete. 

Intended audience

This course is aimed at provincial administrators, mid-level managers and NGO practitioners who are interested in designing and implementing people-centred DRRM in response to disasters and humanitarian crises. This course is not for entry level learners but for those seeking a more nuanced understanding of DRRM.

On completion of this course you will: 

Know

  • Have a solid grounding in the latest theory and practice in DRRM.
  • Understand key DRRM concepts, models and frameworks.
  • Understand the importance of adopting a people-centred approach to DRRM.
  • Understand how hazards affect people in different ways, according to the effects of economic, political, social and cultural factors that determine their vulnerability.

Be able to

  • Identify the main types of hazards and how they interact with vulnerabilities.
  • Deploy key DRRM concepts of risk and vulnerability, as well as understanding some of the basics around hazards, exposure and resilience.
  • Describe the basic elements of the disaster cycle from preparedness and mitigation to response and recovery.
  • Identity the opportunities and challenges of carrying out DRRM in different contexts.

Feel

  • Have the confidence to put into practice the most recent learning and knowledge around DRRM.