Disaster Management Training and Education Centre

The multicultural nature of a higher academic institution comprising students from different backgrounds can either negatively or positively influence student behaviour. Students might engage in high-risk practices, which in turn can make them vulnerable to HIV. Higher academic institutions are then tasked with finding strategies that can help reduce this risk and vulnerability to HIV and/or AIDS. However, there are many issues or barriers, both from the institution and students, which can impede the success of any communication strategy. The University of the Free State’s main campus was conveniently selected for this study. A sample of 402 students from a total of 17 591 undergraduate students participated in the study. A structured questionnaire was randomly distributed to the undergraduate students.
The sample was compiled across all faculties, as well as on campus and off campus. A transact walk on campus with an observation checklist was also used for triangulation purposes. The observation checklist helped to collect data on the visibility of male or female condoms in
toilets, and HIV and/or AIDS messages on noticeboards, bins, stationery, billboards, etc. The main finding indicated that students were not knowledgeable about HIV and/or AIDS campaigns rolled out on campus. To support this, the observational transact walk results indicated that there were no visible campaigns on campus. Also, existing communication and organisational barriers were found not only with the students but also with the implementation office. This study recommends that the University needs to engage the students by identifying the root cause of their vulnerability. The University should explore and make use of all the available resources for successful intervention, thereby building students’ resilience to prevent HIV infection.

This article argues that mainstreaming media into disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) activities could make it a more effective functioning component of DRRM in planning and implementation of disaster risk reduction strategies. Lack of a sound relationship between the media and disaster managers can lead to a negative image of disaster managers and an uninformed public. The study was based on a narrative and systematic review of scholarly documents along with discourse analysis of the reporting of disasters by a major South African newspaper. Relevant legislation was also reviewed to identify its level of support for the incorporation of media into disaster management activities and a questionnaire was administered to journalists and disaster managers. Findings obtained from the content analysis of the data obtained from statutes, articles and other documents, informed the development of a media strategic framework. This framework is a proposed tool for use by disaster managers. The article argues that the framework could help to ensure that media is not only a vessel for transmitting bad news during a disaster, but rather (via a continuous interrelationship in DRRM processes) it could provide additional active and accurate messaging to the public.

Water scarcity is a slow – onset disaster that does not usually obtain rapid humanitarian intervention, and the group most affected is women. This dissertation focuses on the experiences and coping strategies of rural women with regards to water scarcity. The main focus is on exploring the impact of water scarcity on rural women and determining the significance the of progression of vulnerability model, the progression of safety model and risk reduction objectives as tools for effectively identifying the effects of water scarcity and mitigating the identified problems. Also, the study examines aspects of water scarcity that affect rural women and the social norms and values governing water use at the international, national and local level. The thesis relied on four techniques of data collection; literature study, ethnographic research design, questionnaires and focus group discussion. The findings presented in the dissertation suggest that water scarcity is a frightening hazard and in urgent need of humanitarian intervention, for it taps into many facets of human security. Impact of water scarcity on women and the vulnerability of their families continue to progress negatively. The challenge of risk reduction and progress to security is difficult due to poor economies and lack of technical and human resources.

Disaster management is a process of planning and implementation of measures involving multiple disciplines and sectors; hence Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) cannot go unnoticed. Approximately 189 member states agreed to endeavour to achieve MDGs which should be accomplished by 2015. The purpose of this research was to establish
the primary involvement of the disaster management fraternity within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region in this agreement. SADC countries are the countries with a high prevalence of HIV and AIDS and they feature on the disaster manager’s priority list of hazards, hence the focus on MDG 6 for this study. Various data
gathering tools were employed and included making use of indicators developed by the United Nations to review disaster management statutes or civil protection statutes and scholarly documents on the progress of MDG 6. Structured interviews were carried out with heads of disaster management centres of SADC countries through the guidance of MDG 6 indicators. The main findings were that most statutes do acknowledge the fight against epidemics and most disaster managers are aware of MDG 6 and are involved in its achievement. It was recommended that disaster managers should be part of the Post 2015
MDG delegation.

Malnutrition contributes significantly to Zimbabwe’s high maternal mortality rate. The prevalence of malnutrition among vulnerable pregnant women in the Mbire district of Zimbabwe was studied to establish why they remained vulnerable despite benefiting from the
Vulnerable Group Feeding Programme, a subsidiary of the World Food Programme. A case study on the demographic characteristics, nutritional provision of the programme and the vulnerable pregnant women benefiting from the programme was conducted. One hundred
women were purposively sampled at health centres in the district. A two-stage sampling procedure was then utilised to select the most food-insecure wards. The two most food-insecure wards, namely Angwa and Chapoto, were chosen because of their proximity to each other. A questionnaire was administered to pregnant women to collect their demographic information. Practising nurses at the health centres determined the women’s nutritional status and anthropometrics, and they also assessed the food baskets. Permission to conduct the study
was obtained from the relevant authorities. The results indicated that the food hamper provided by the World Food Programme was complimentary food aid given to all vulnerable members of the community regardless of the nutritional demands. The supplements that the pregnant women received were also inadequate to cater for their nutritional needs or those of the foetuses. It was therefore recommended that the government, through the Ministry of Health, should make more provisions available for vulnerable pregnant women in order to reduce the risks facing pregnant women in the country.

Disaster management is a process of planning and implementation of measures involving multiple disciplines and sectors; hence Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) cannot go unnoticed. Approximately 189 member states agreed to endeavour to achieve MDGs which should be accomplished by 2015. The purpose of this research was to establish the primary involvement of the disaster management fraternity within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region in this agreement. SADC countries are the countries with a high prevalence of HIV and AIDS and they feature on the disaster manager’s priority list of hazards, hence the focus on MDG 6 for this study. Various data gathering tools were employed and included making use of indicators developed by the United Nations to review disaster management statutes or civil protection statutes and scholarly documents on the progress of MDG 6. Structured interviews were carried out with heads of disaster management centres of SADC countries throu...

This study assessed the perceived impact of illegal gold mining on the environment and the people of Gwanda District, Zimbabwe. The research applied qualitative and quantitative methods using face-to-face interviews, questionnaires and observations. Purposive sampling techniques were used and 94 respondents were interviewed drawn from informal gold miners, non-miners and stakeholders comprising local government officials, environmental manage-ment authorities and officials from local mining organisations. Non-miners included those people living with informal gold miners along the riverbanks and neighbouring communal settlers. The study established that informal gold mining activities were poverty driven, contributed to environmental problems such as deforestation, river siltation, soil erosion and water pollution due to disposing waste materials and the use of chemicals such as mercury and cyanide. The study recommends that a coordinated approach be used to create a certification sc...

The South African disaster response activities surpass risk reduction since the implementation of the Disaster Management Act 57 of 2002 (DMA) and the National Disaster Management Framework of 2005 (NDMF). Risk reduction, in particular risk communication, remained unexploited until the occurrence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The legislation and policy mandate a proactive approach for disaster management, requiring a focus on disaster risk reduction. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the significance of risk communication as a critical prevention and mitigatory strategy in disaster risk management, focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic. Key to risk communication success is ensuring adequate comprehension, accurate perception of the disseminated information, and compliance with regulations. Questions of trustworthiness, acceptability, effectiveness, and usefulness of messages and strategies communicated sought answers from the Bloemfontein population. Furthermore, the Agenda-setting Theory provided the grounding for the study. The study sample was picked in a stratified random sampling manner, using the confidence level and margin of error equation. A questionnaire survey was used to collect the data required to achieve the research objectives. Risk communication as a disaster risk reduction strategy implemented concurrently with imposed regulations was found to have played a vital role in mitigating the virus spread. However, the respondents were not aware of the local disaster management centre, which is supposed to be engaged in COVID-19 disaster management activities.
Keywords: COVID-19; risk communication; disaster management; legislation; policy; media; disaster communication; Agenda-setting Theory.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) brought on several social, economic, political, and environmental challenges. What was mostly questioned was the efficacy of the Disaster Management Act 57 of 2002 (As Amended 16 of 2015) (DMA), which was used to declare COVID-19 a disaster. The concern was whether the DMA is able to deal with pandemics when its focus is mostly on climate-related disasters. Most public health emergencies experience the spread of overwhelming information, some of which may be true and others may be false information. This article discusses the home remedies and myths related to COVID-19, that could impede pandemic response efforts. Subsequently, this study raises a question regarding the effectiveness of DMA to deal with such types of compounding risks. In doing so, this research is exploratory where the DMA and the media articles on COVID-19 home remedies and myths are systematically reviewed. Coronavirus disease 2019 home remedies and myths were found to be hazar...

The South African disaster response activities surpass risk reduction since the implementation of the Disaster Management Act 57 of 2002 (DMA) and the National Disaster Management Framework of 2005 (NDMF). Risk reduction, in particular risk communication, remained unexploited until the occurrence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The legislation and policy mandate a proactive approach for disaster management, requiring a focus on disaster risk reduction. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the significance of risk communication as a critical prevention and mitigatory strategy in disaster risk management, focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic. Key to risk communication success is ensuring adequate comprehension, accurate perception of the disseminated information, and compliance with regulations. Questions of trustworthiness, acceptability, effectiveness, and usefulness of messages and strategies communicated sought answers from the Bloemfontein population. Furthermore, ...

South Africa is suffering from a magnitude of increasing human and weather-induced hazards such as drought, diseases, water shortage, urban-flooding, coastal flooding, wildfires, social unrest, and storms. In turn, these hazards instigate devastating social, economic, environmental, physical, political instability and devastating impacts. Due to increased hazards, disaster management activities have gained momentum. Activities such as preparedness, prevention, mitigation, response, and recovery, require up-to-date reliable data, properly managed information, and organised communication systems. In building community resilience, the disaster management field can, thus, not avoid emerging information, communication and technological developments. In various ways, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is making enormous waves and can aid risk reduction to build resilience. Considering the above, the need for reliable data to manage disasters influenced the research into investigating the information management and communication systems in the South African Provincial Disaster Management Centres (PDMC). Additionally, the research into the status quo of the PDMCs and the dynamics surrounding the establishment of these systems added value to the study investigation. The South African Disaster Management Act 57 of 2002 (as amended, Act 16 of 2015) (DMA), the National Disaster Management Framework of 2005 (NDMF), and international agreements like the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) stress the importance of information management and communication systems for effective disaster management.
This study was anchored in the constructivist philosophical worldview that integrates well with the mixed-methods approach. Questionnaires that allowed for semi-structured interviews during administration and an observational walk comprising of photo-taking at the Centres, contributed immensely to the empirical evidence. The study was exploratory in nature because the South African disaster information management and communication systems have not been studied more clearly. A literary study was conducted to explore information and communication-related legislation, good practices, as well as asserting the significant link between disaster risk governance and management of information as the key to successful disaster management. An in-depth literature review, together with the comparative analysis of the Stakeholder Theory, Model of an Integrated Information Management and Communication System for Disaster Risk Management, the Information and Knowledge Management for Disaster Risk Reduction Framework and the Model of Policy Implementation Process, led to
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an empirical inquiry into the disaster risk governance of the South African National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC), as well as the nine PDMCs. Following the mixed-method approach, a field study comprised a face-to-face administering (interview style) of a closed and open-ended questionnaire, allowing the respondent to discuss and comment on each question posed. The key informants comprised mainly of the heads of the Centres and deputy or assistant directors from each directorate in the Centre. Using a thematic analytic approach, the empirical data were analysed against themes derived from the research questions and literature review. The data were then presented in a narrative report chapter, comprising of pictures from the observational walk-about at the Centres. A descriptive analysis of the quantitative findings entailing summarising and finding certain patterns was presented. Both the qualitative and quantitative findings were presented sequentially.
Visits to the PDMCs revealed that integrated information management and communication systems were not established, including the NDMC. In an era where technology is increasing in speed, breadth, and depth, the study found disaster management officials collecting information informally without a formal methodology, storing information on personal computers and limited information dissemination methods like emails, as the main platform. The only systems developed since the promulgation of the DMA and the NDMF are fragmented and reactive in nature. The systems were mainly for reporting incidents contradicting the proactive approach mandated by the DMA and the NDMF. The study also confirmed that the governments idealised policy is not being implemented as expected by the government. The implementing institutions are under-capacitated in terms of human resources, irrelevant and inadequate qualifications and infrastructure. Also, politicians are not in full support or do not comprehend the disaster management function. Therefore resulting in the low prioritisation of the investments into integrated systems. Despite the dynamic setbacks, information management and communication systems remain a pivotal component to disaster management. Hence, the study recommends the national government takes the lead in establishing a uniform and integrated system that cascades down to the lower spheres of government.
Based on the in-depth literature review and empirical findings, the study proposed a holistic and effective integrated framework to guide the PDMCs in developing, managing and comprehending the components of information management and communication systems. Also, the Framework guides in understanding the systems’ support for each key performance area and enablers as prescribed in the NDMF. Through strategic disaster risk governance
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recommendations, the study ensured the prioritisation and placement of information, its management, and dissemination at the epicentre of disaster management operations. Disaster management practitioners need to start thinking creatively, find new methods to build resilience and accept some of the latest developments in science and technology that can provide disaster management solutions. Subsequently, good stakeholder relations and good governance practice might help lessen disaster impacts and improve the response to the earlier mentioned devastations.
The main recommendation for further studies included a critical analysis of an established fully functional and integrated disaster information management and communication system. As well as determining the effects of this system on disaster risk reduction in communities.

A crisis communication plan facilitates the effective flow of information between relevant organisation(s) and a community affected by a crisis. In 2010 the Frances Baard District Municipality, situated in the Northern Cape, commissioned the development of a crisis communication plan for the municipality. It was to be developed in consultation with various stakeholders. Once developed, the plan had to be reviewed and serve as an educational document that could be used by other municipalities. The study found that drafting a crisis communication plan has to include best communication practices for each anticipated problem and effective implementation. Continuous evaluation and updating of the plan are necessary to ensure that critical business functions are not jeopardised in the event of a crisis.