In November this year, I was lucky to be among participants at the Understanding Risk and Finance Conference held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The overall aim of the 1 week conference was to assess disaster preparedness in the African Context, share best practices in disaster preparedness as well as financing of disasters.
Ebola
Two disaster areas that stood out for me were Ebola and climate change. On Ebola I was thrilled to hear first hand experiences from doctors and nurses from Sierra Leone and Uganda on how they had helped curb the Ebola epidemic. Prior to this conference, I had only read and watched news about the Ebola epidemic. I had not had a chance to meet face to face and hear stories from the brave warriors who against all odds (poorly equipped hospitals, lack of enough personnel, propaganda that the disease was a biological missile, people seeking help from traditional doctors instead of going to hospital, being stigmatized and isolated from family and friends, watching colleagues succumb to the disease) had fought to ensure that Sierra Leone and Africa as a whole was Ebola free.
Climate Change
The conference came as the world was preparing for the COP21 climate talks in Paris. One of the Day 1 speakers was the French Ambassador to Ethiopia Ms Brigitte Collet who assured participants that France was still on course to host the climate talks despite the horrific terror attacks that had hit the country. It is almost impossible to talk about disaster without talking about climate change as many of the disasters that have hit the continent have been related to climate change. In this session I got to learn about how technologies such as drones are being used to detect as well as prevent floods in Tanzania. As
a producer for one of Kenya’s premier TV show on environmental shows ( Ecojournal and Project Green Tv) and having done my
MA thesis on the role of media in raising environmental awareness, It was interesting to see what the rest of the eco conscious world is doing in mitigating the effects of climate change.
Role of Youth
On day 2 of the conference, we had an interactive youth session on understanding risk and finance. During this session, we had a panel of youth leaders from across Africa giving perspectives on how youth can help to mitigate risk and disaster. What stood out for me in this session was a presentation on how youth in Tanzania are using music and art to raise awareness on climate change. There was also a presentation on how youth can use social media to play their part in curbing disasters. A student leader from the Addis Ababa University also shared about a student club at the university is dedicated to mitigating disasters in Ethiopia. All these innovative ways show that the youth can and are playing an active role in changing their societies.
The Understanding Risk and Finance Conference interactive youth event was planned as part of the URF conference on disaster risk mitigation and resilience in Africa, organized by the World Bank and partners in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from November 17-20, 2015. The event brought together African bloggers, students, youth leaders and young professionals in an interactive session to explore perspectives, policies and ideas on resilience and addressing economic, food security, climate, conflict and emerging risks in Africa. The event incorporated digital technologies for virtual participation and engagement of young people across the world.
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