Africafé : Advancing Natural Disaster Management Strategies in Africa

March 21, 2024

The profound impacts of natural disasters on lives, economies, and communities underscore the need for comprehensive understanding and proactive measures. These disasters disrupt livelihoods, displace populations, and strain resources, exacerbating vulnerabilities in both urban and rural areas. The economic toll is significant, hindering development efforts and causing long-term setbacks due to infrastructural damage. Drawing lessons from other countries like Brazil, Africa recognizes the imperative of building resilience in communities to mitigate the impacts of natural disasters. Implementing measures such as early warning systems, robust infrastructure, and community-based disaster preparedness initiatives can bolster resilience and minimize casualties. Moreover, investing in education and capacity-building programs further empowers communities to respond effectively to crises. By learning from Brazil's experiences, African nations are poised to strengthen their natural disaster management strategies and enhance their ability to withstand and recover from such adversities.

Speakers
Eduardo Amaral Haddad
Senior Fellow
Eduardo A. Haddad is Full Professor at the Department of Economics at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, where he directs the Regional and Urban Economics Lab (NEREUS). He is additionally a Affiliate Professor at the Faculty of Governance, Economic and Social Sciences of the Mohammed VI University. He also holds a position as Affiliate Research Professor at the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory – REAL – at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. He is a Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, Rabat, Morocco. Prof. Haddad has published widely in professional journals on regional and interregional input-output analysis, computable general equilibrium modeling, and various aspects of regional economic development in developing countries; he ...
Ahmed Ouhnini
Economist, Policy Center for the New South
Ahmed Ouhnini is an Economist at the Policy Center for the New South. His research area covers agricultural economics, human and social development. Previously, he has worked as a researcher at the Paris School of Economics (PSE) and has also a record of working in consulting services in Morocco. Ahmed holds an engineering Diploma in Agriculture and Rural Development from the National School of Agriculture of Meknes and a Master’s Degree in Law, Economics and Management from the Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne Institute of Development. ...

RELATED CONTENT

  • Authors
    Hynd Bouhia
    May 14, 2020
    Morocco is today cited as an example for its dynamism, its leadership, under the impetus of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, and, above all, its coherence in decision-making and the involvement of the population, through the Covid-19 Special Fund and the media to maintain public confidence. Indeed, the safety of the Moroccans was given priority over all other considerations, which made it possible to speed up the handling of the events and to supervise the management of the contaminate ...
  • Authors
    Mouhamadou Moustapha Ly
    Meriem Oudmane
    May 12, 2020
    In the field of health, important results have been achieved on the African continent as shown by recent data in terms of life expectancy and the availability of treatment for the major causes of morbidity. In spite of this, the recent episode of the Ebola epidemic, which required the mobilization of substantial human and financial resources, but above all international aid, shows that health systems remain vulnerable to major shocks. The current context of the Covid-19 pandemic poi ...
  • Authors
    May 12, 2020
    Analysts are trying to understand why the COVID-19 pandemic is progressing in Africa at a much slower rate than expected. According to one report, the continent had by the beginning of May seen 37,000 infection cases and 1600 fatalities, compared to the rest of the world, which has 3.2 million cases and 228,000 deaths1. Various explanations have been proffered to explain this disparity: Africa’s warm climate, the youthfulness of the continent’s population (60% of the population is u ...
  • Authors
    Pierre Jacquemot
    May 12, 2020
    It is still too early to assess the extent of the Coronavirus pandemic in Africa, but everything seems to suggest that it will have a major impact on already vulnerable health systems – from prevention to the management of patients. Various forms of resilience are being tested with pejorative effects, especially against the very poor, who are less prepared to observe the protection measures and more exposed in their daily lives. However, lessons can be learned from past epidemic exp ...
  • Authors
    Mouhamadou Moustapha Ly
    Meriem Oudmane
    May 12, 2020
    Dans le domaine de la santé, des résultats importants ont été obtenus sur le continent africain comme le montrent les données récentes en termes d’espérance de vie et de la disponibilité des traitements contre les grandes causes de morbidité. Malgré cela, l’épisode récent de l’épidémie d’Ebola, qui a nécessité la mobilisation de moyens humains et financiers conséquents mais surtout de l’aide internationale, montre que les systèmes de santé restent vulnérables à des chocs de grande a ...
  • Authors
    Mohammed Germouni
    May 8, 2020
    An examination, inevitably bound to be broad in scope, of the economic and social implications for a country, in this case Morocco, of a sudden pandemic that has broken out in virtually most parts of the world, can only be a prelude to a broader and more comprehensive study to be undertaken in due course. For obvious reasons, especially as the current crisis induced by the primacy of health, could later evolve into a form of economic depression as various multifaceted aid and suppor ...
  • Authors
    Mohammed Germouni
    May 8, 2020
    Un examen, nécessairement à grands traits, des incidences économiques et sociales pour un pays, en l’occurrence le Maroc, d’une soudaine pandémie qui s’est déclarée sur presque la plupart des régions de la planète, ne peut être qu’un simple prélude d’une large étude exhaustive à entreprendre le moment venu. Et ce pour des raisons évidentes, à savoir que la crise en cours induite par le primat du sanitaire, pouvant évoluer, ensuite, en une forme de dépression économique que divers pr ...
  • Authors
    May 8, 2020
    Digital technological innovation, combined with new financing approaches, can make a significant contribution in the field of access to energy. This is the case in Kenya, where payas- you-go solutions, combined with solar home systems and an extensive mobile network, have enabled thousands of Kenyans to access clean and affordable off-grid electricity. This policy paper identifies the drivers of the development of pay-as-you-go solutions in off-grid systems in Kenya, assesses their ...
  • Authors
    Abdelhamid El Ouazzan
    May 7, 2020
    Rumours about the Covid-19 pandemic, which spread from Central China in mid- November 2019, are fuelling several conspiracy theories. These include, for example, the assumption of a biological attack against the backdrop of a trade war or a leak of the SARS Co-V2 pathogen from a Chinese biological programme. On the sidelines of this speculative spiral, the debate on the use of biological weapons is being reactivated. In fact, several pathogens of natural origin, genetically modifie ...
  • Authors
    May 5, 2020
    Les rivalités entre les puissances semblent acquérir une ampleur inédite en ces temps de crise, se déclinant, plus que jamais, dans le domaine de l’influence. A l’instar de nombreux Etats, la Turquie s’est également saisie de la crise du Covid-19 pour distiller son Soft Power et faire montre d’un activisme renouvelé sur la scène internationale. Cette offensive diplomatique s’inscrit dans un contexte plus large de quête d’une visibilité accrue sur le continent africain. Ce Policy Bri ...