Risk may be seen by a lay man as nothing especially in Africawhere people are not enlighten about the risk inherent in our community and continent. Such risk ranges from natural disaster, epidemic and contagious diseases, drought, famine to mention but a few. Poor people in countries prone to the aforementioned tend to be hit the hardest by risks because the resources they have to manage risks are often small or non-existent. According to reports from World Developmemt Report (WDR), more people die from drought in Africa than any other natural hazard whereas virtually no one has died from drought in developed countries in the past four decades. Without improved risk management, the fight to end poverty will be even more elusive, says the WDR.Risk management is seen as a very powerful tool for development and has the potential to bring about security andfuture prosperity to people in the developing world.Disaster risk management implies addressing the underlying social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities and thereby reduce the probability of a disaster occurring. In an ideal world preventive measures would make disaster relief efforts obsolete, but realistically they complement relief efforts, minimizing disaster impacts and therefore the human and economic cost of disasters.Natural disasters are particularly challenging in the developing world where the humanitarian impact is often devastating.Disaster risk management tries to address hazard risks as an integral part of development especially in developing counties.Effective risk management approaches can not onlyprotect the poor – they can also unlock opportunities for better development outcomes. Farmers in Ghana and India for example, have rainfall insurance which has increased theirinvestments in fertilizer, seeds, and other inputs. Also during the outbreak of Ebola Fever in Africa, countries like Nigeria were able to curb the spread timely due to commitment and readiness of the government. The government and the citizens of disaster prone countries have a lot to do by building up necessary facilities and cooperating with the locals to curb the recurrence of disaster in disaster prone areas.As witnessed with the recent catastrophes in Haiti and Chile, the poorest people are often the most effected and what little they have is often lost. When 80% of your population lives below the poverty line, as is the case in Haiti, the aftermath can be crippling. While the initial press coverage is intense and people’s willingness to provide aid is plentiful, too often these countries and their people are forgotten as the excitement and newness of the catastrophe wears off. For developing countries a natural disaster can set them back years and take a long time to recover.There is need to stress the fact that emergency responses should be stoppedwhen crises occur,risk management should bemore proactive, systematic and be an integrated risk management, like it is said ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’. For example, in the past, in Nigeria, Lassa fever occurs yearly, and the death toll always on the high.This may be due to lack of implementation of a nationwide program to address this along with the introduction of improved forecasting capacity and a relatively simple but effective public alert system.Even when risk management is cost-effective and saves lives,individuals and societies struggle to manage risk due to obstacles and constraints such as lack of information and resources, cognitive and behavioural failures, missing markets and public goods, and unintended social and economic consequences and illiteracy. For instance, simple steps to prevent the spread of diseases, such as washing hands and wearing face masks, are effective but often not implemented. Thus, identifying risks is not enough: the trade-offs and obstacles of risk management must also be identified, prioritized and addressed through public and private action. More public enlighten is needed through means that will get to the local or poor people faster as they are more prone to disaster.Risk management requires shared action and responsibility atdifferent levels of society, from the household to the international community (WDR). While households are the primary source of support, communities can provide informal networks of insurance, and enterprises can help absorb shocks. Similarly the financial system can provide useful risk management tools, states can craft sound regulations and provide direct support, and the international community can offer expertise and pool global resources.While the state should generally strive to lessen uncertainty and reduce risks, it has been argued that it is particularly important to provide the right incentives for people and institutions to do their own planning and preparation. According toWDR Director, Norman Loayza, “To manage risks effectively, there is need to change two things in people’s mindset which are related to individual and social responsibility, that is, moving from dependency to self-reliance, and from isolation to cooperation. Providing the right incentives can contribute in both regards.”
Written by Elumah Lucas for World Bank Group
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