Examining the integration process of the community based institutions and organisations as a response strategy for ‘disaster reduction’: A case of the Kazungula District, Zambia

Abstract

There has been an increase in disasters over the past 20 years. Community-based institutions and organisations such as local government, community neighborhood and international organisations have been recognized as important elements in disaster management. To be more effective, it is important that these institutions are integrating disaster reduction (DRR). For this study, the integration process of the community-based organisations and institutions was analyzed. The documentation and analysis were complemented with thirteen in- depth interviews with respondents from governmental and non-governmental institutions. Two focus group discussions with respondents were with community-based organisations such as the health neighbourhood members; community leadership and women group representatives were also involved. The analysis further sought to document and factors that have shaped or hindered the process.The findings show that institutions and organisations did not optimally integrate DRR in their routine activities, and the Kazungula district is yet to develop a disaster mitigation response system. Enhancing the integration process requires an appropriate response to support actors and potential actors in DRR through the development of a framework, trainings, and network-based resource mobilisation. The elements that facilitated the DRR integration process included some community-based institutions and organisations being adopted in climate change projects. The organisations and institutions faced challenges in understating DRR concepts and lacked guidelines and frameworks. Other noted challenges included the lack of trained staff to implement the DRR, the attitude of the affected communities and limited funding.