International women's day

 

The first International Women’s Day occurred on March 19 in 1911. The inaugural event, which included rallies and organized meetings, was held  in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. The March 19 date was chosen because it commemorated the day that the Prussian king promised to introduce women's votes in 1848. The promise gave hope for equality, but he failed to keep the promise. March 8, the date we know today as International Women’s Day, came about after the International Women’s Day demonstration in Russia in 1917. February 23  in the Julian calendar  that  Russia was using was the equivalent of March 8 in the Gregorian calendar that we are using.

The UN drew global attention to women's concerns in 1975 by calling for an International Women's Year. It also convened the first conference on women in Mexico City that year. The UN General Assembly then invited member states to proclaim March 8 as the UN Day for Women's Rights and International Peace in 1977. The day aimed to help nations worldwide eliminate discrimination against women. It also focused on helping women gain full and equal participation in global development.International Women’s day is held annually on March 8 to celebrate women’s achievements,acknowledge their peculiar challenges and focus on women’s rights and gender equality.

In line with global trends in Zimbabwe we celebrate pacesetters among women such as Divine Ndhukula @DivineNdhlukula a  businesswoman, founder and Managing Director of DDNS Security Operations (Pvt) Ltd she is also the President of Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce since 2017,Zodwa Mnkandla  a successful entrepreneur who is the managing director and the owner of Traverze, a leisure and business travel Management Company.Maud Chifamba  @maud_chifamba  who is an auditor at Deloitte,she acquired her first degree at the  age of 18 and Musawenkosi Saurombe who
 became the youngest female PhD holder in Africa  at 23 years after she received her PhD in Industrial Psychology from the North-West University in South Africa. Although we gain inspiration from these pacesetters it is paramount to note that International Women’s day celebrates women for who they are ,the struggles that they come across each day the milestones that they have to achieve in the male dominated spaces.Halala bafazi halala we salute you.

Socio-economic Impact of Covid 19 in Zimbabwe

 

  Covid-19 was declared a global pandemic in early 2020,In that short space of time it has extensively altered the global political and socio-economic landscape. The pandemic has forced nations to implement various measures aimed at curtailing its effects. Communities have been affected with churches, beerhalls and schools being closed. Freedom of movement is now restricted as people can no longer go out as they wish within and between cities. In the worst cases, some countries have closed their borders. Recently in Zimbabwe , the Ministry of Health and Child Care imposed restrictions on the movement of bodies for burial in the country. Such measures by Government indicate that it is indeed no longer business as usual. Desperate measures  for desperate times. While vaccines for the virus have been developed, primarily in the United States, they are yet to be effectively rolled out and the average person can only wait in hope and live with a pandemic that is threatening every aspect of human existence. As the world is waiting in hope and positive anticipation, a new variant of Covid-19 seems to have hit the world again. Experts say that the variant is more dangerous than the earlier one and people should be more careful. In Zimbabwe, the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened and recent statistics confirm this claim. As of Tuesday the 26^th of February 2021, the cumulative number of cases was 35315.A total of 1414 deaths have been recorded to date. More worrying is the recovery rate which has plummeted to just above 60 percent. These statistics reveal a sharp rise in cases and mortality, which is a cause for concern. On January 2 this year, the Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Constantino Chiwenga announced a 30-day lockdown for the country to address the pandemic. Predictably, there has been debate as to the effectiveness and relevance of this move with some arguing that complacency still remains a challenge as people break down lockdown regulations.

Others lament the social and economic effects of the lockdown on the livelihoods of the majority of people as the major driver  of disregarding lock down rules.

 

 

 

The Causes of Gender based violence.Part 1

According to The World Bank Group The numbers are staggering; 35% of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence.

Globally, 7% of women have been sexually assaulted by someone other than a partner.

Globally, as many as 38% of murders of women are committed by an intimate partner.

200 million women have experienced female genital mutilation/cutting.

This issue is not only devastating for survivors of violence and their families, but also entails significant social and economic costs. In some countries, violence against women is estimated to cost countries up to 3.7% of their GDP – more than double what most governments spend on education.Failure to address this issue also entails a significant cost for the future.  Numerous studies have shown that children growing up with violence are more likely to become survivors themselves or perpetrators of violence in the future.One characteristic of gender-based violence is that it knows no social or economic boundaries and affects women and girls of all socio-economic backgrounds: this issue needs to be addressed in both developing and developed countries. Decreasing violence against women and girls requires a community-based, multi-pronged approach, and sustained engagement with multiple stakeholders. The most effective initiatives address underlying risk factors for violence, including social norms regarding gender roles and the acceptability of violence. When we consider a societal or community problem, it’s sometimes hard to see past the symptoms of that problem to get at the real cause.  It can be easier to deal with the concrete, immediate factors rather than the complex, far-reaching dynamics.  But to get to real change, we must address the underlying issues in order for conditions to improve. If we want to end gender-based violence, we must eliminate the root causes of that violence. 

Understanding root causes can be difficult, as it requires us to look beyond what we see in front of us and attempt to see the more complicated factors that are driving the problem.  Of course, an effective approach to a solution requires a two-pronged approach that addresses the immediate problem and looks at the root causes.  Some of the root causes of gender based violence include but are not limited to:

1.     Harmful traditional practices are forms of violence which have been committed primarily against women and girls in certain communities and societies for so long that they are considered, or presented by perpetrators, as part of accepted cultural practice. Harmful traditional practices are forms of violence which have been committed primarily against women and girls in certain communities and societies for so long that they are considered, or presented by perpetrators, as part of accepted cultural practice. Harmful traditional practices are forms of violence which have been committed primarily against women and girls in certain communities and societies for so long that they are considered, or presented by perpetrators, as part of accepted cultural practice.

The most common types  are :

·        Forced or early marriage so called 'honour' based violence.

·        Female genital mutilation.

·        Patriarchy.

Ten ways bloggers can make money.

1.      GOOGLE ADSENSE

The most common way of making money blogging is through google adsense. Almost 90% of the blogs on internet use Google AdSense on their blogs to make money because it is easy and profitable.

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2.      AFFILIATE MARKETING

Another way of making money blogging is through affiliate marketing. Though it requires hard work  and a good marketing strategy  it is highly ranked as an income earner. Choosing the right affiliate program and right way to promote it is  also key to  successful  in affiliate marketing.

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3.      SELLING AD SPACE

This option is available for renowned bloggers who have lots of visitors on their site.If you are such then can sell some of the space on your website to the advertisers. This will bring real monthly income without any effort. Websites such as buysellads.com or blogads.com can help you sell space and earn a fixed monthly income from advertisers or you can place a link to advertise on your site so that advertisers can directly contact  you.

4.      SELLING A PRODUCT

 You can create an eBook and sell it on your blog, you can sell your services or you can even sell physical products. If there is quality in your products, you can  do well. However be careful to sell something  related to your blog category. If you areblogging  about health, you can sell health products, if you are about making money online, you can create an eBook on this topic and sell. This will bring a better conversion from your  visitors.

5.      CREATE A MEMBERSHIP SITE

If you think, your contents are worth thousands of dollars then you can  create a membership sites. There are thousands of bloggers who charge either one time payment or monthly subscription or even yearly to access the premium contents.This way you can make life time recurring income throughAs the number of members increases & so your monthly income.

6.       DONATION BUTTON

This is one of the best way of earning from your blog. You can put a PayPal donation button on your blog and ask your readers to donate if they liked your contents. People who  benefit from your contents will likely to donate you. If you are not using any of the other ways of earning, there is no reason to shun a  ‘donate me’ button on your site. Even one of the biggest website Wikipedia makes money from donation only.

7.      SPONSORED REVIEW

This is writing paid reviews of other’s product and services. Many advertisers require a  review of their products or services on famous blogs and they pay hundreds of dollars or even thousands for single review.This way they can sell their products to your loyal readers. A positive review can bring a lifelong income to them from your blog. However you need to personally  check  the product by requesting a sample and after your satisfaction, give the review. A wrong review can destroy your personal brand.

8.      WEBSITE FLIPPING

Website flipping is buying and selling websites to make a profit.People make blogs on their own and grow them  for a period of time after which they sell them. The more you grow a website, the more are your chances of selling them at 10 times or 15 times the amount of its monthly income. Sites like Flippa, WebsiteBroker, DealaSite.com  accept websites for auctioning.

9.      PAY PER CLICK SITES

Sites like AdSense, MediaVine,Ezoic Chitika, Infolinks, Adbrite, Yahoo Publisher Network, Kontera,  pay per click for running their ads on your blog. Bloggers  are making good money through these pay per click site.

10.  AMAZON ASSOCIATE

Amazon associate is one of the best program to make money by displaying Amazon’s hot selling product in your blog sidebar. Using  some good plugins you can rotate the products on each visit so that you can make most out of this.

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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

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https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg1
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg2
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg3
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg4
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg5
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg6
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg7
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg8
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg9
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg10
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg11
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg12
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg13
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg14
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg15
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg16
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg17
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg17

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), otherwise known as the Global Goals, are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

These 17 Goals build on the successes of the Millennium Development Goals, while including new areas such as climate change, economic inequality, innovation, sustainable consumption, peace and justice, among other priorities. The goals are interconnected – often the key to success on one will involve tackling issues more commonly associated with another.https://www.undp.org/content/.../sustainable-development-goals.ht

THE GLOBAL GOALS IN AFRICA.

Besides the 2030 Agenda, African countries have committed to implement the African Union Agenda 2063, which is both a vision and a plan to build a more prosperous Africa in 50 years. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development acknowledges the importance of the AU Agenda 2063 and considers it an integral part of it. 

Africa has made significant progress on the Millennium Development Goals, including enrolling more children in primary school, particularly girls, increasing the representation of women in national parliaments, and reducing child and maternal deaths and the proportion of people infected with HIV.Building on this progress, several countries are already taking steps to translate the ambitions articulated in the 2030 Agenda into tangible outcomes for their people; they are beginning with integrating the SDGs into their national visions and plans.

Ø  In Angola, Ethiopia and South Africa, working with the UN Country Teams, UNDP has provided support to raise awareness about the SDGs among government officers, members of Parliaments, civil society and private sector actors.

Ø  Uganda was one of the first countries to develop its 2015/16–2019/20 national development plan in line with the SDGs. The Government estimates that 76 per cent of the SDGs targets are reflected in the plan and adapted to the national context. The UN Country Team has supported the government to integrate the SDGs also into sub-national development plans, in line with the national plan.

Ø  The governments of Sierra Leone, Uganda, Madagascar and Togo volunteered to conduct national reviews of their implementation of the 2030 Agenda. They received support from UNDP for preparing their respective reports, which were presented at the UN High-level Political Forum, held on 11–20 July 2016 in New York. The Forum is the United Nations global platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs; it provides policy guidance to countries for the implementation of the goals.

Ø  In Liberia, UNDP supported the government to develop a Roadmap for the domestication of the 2030 Agenda and the African Union Agenda 2063 into the country’s next national development plan. The Roadmap outlines the key steps to translate the SDGs and Agenda 2063 into plans, policies and programmes; taking into consideration the fact that Liberia is a Fragile State, it applies the New Deal Principles.

Ø  In Cabo Verde, UNDP supported the government to convene an international conference on the SDGs in June 2015, which contributed to the global discussions on the specific needs of the Small Island Developing States in the context of the new universal agenda on sustainable development. In the context of the UN Country Team (UNCT), UNDP also supported the government to develop a Roadmap to place the SDGs at the center of its national development planning processes.

In Mauritania, in the context of the UNCT, UNDP supported the Ministry for the Economy and Finances to convene partners for example from NGOs, the private sector, other ministries and government agencies to discuss the implementation of the SDGs in Mauritania. UNDP also supported a national workshop to provide the tools and the methodology for mainstreaming the SDGs into Mauritania’s new strategy(www.zw.undp.org/content/.../sustainable-development-goals.html

Disaster Mitigation

                                      DISASTER MITIGATION

Mitigation is the effort to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disaster. This is achieved through risk analysis and vulnerability assessment so that policies that put in place meet the intended objectives which results in information that provide a foundation for mitigation activities. It is a pre-disaster phase which is mainly focused on reducing the impact of a disaster culminating from a disaster. Generally speaking, mitigation is the first stage of the disaster management cycle which is followed by preparedness, response and recovery. While this  is the generally accepted order of events, in reality these stages are all intertwined and not necessary exclusive.Akonor (2008) assets ‘that mitigation is the longest and perhaps never ending phase of the emergency management cycle. Mitigation measures are not homogenous they differ due to the type of a disaster. Anderson (1989) postulates that developed countries mostly experience technological disaster and mitigation measures are in line with the disaster. Mitigation measures can be structural or non structural.Stuctural measures deals or relies on hard engineering while non structural involves policies and utilisation of naturally available resources. For example building levees along river banks so as to reduce overflowing of water is an example of structural measure while putting policies such as legislation which prohibits people to carry out activities which may cause a disaster. Woodrow (1990) postulates that there are sets of tools that could be used to prevent disaster; these include hazard management and vulnerability reduction, economic diversification, political intervention and commitment and public awareness.

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The term mitigation applies to a wide range of activities and protection measures that might be instigated from physical like constructing stronger buildings to the procedural like standard techniques for incorporating hazard assessment in land use planning. World Bank Report (2000) contends that the 1990s was a decade of major effort to encourage the implementation of disaster mitigation techniques in development projects around the world. These were initiated mostly in developing countries because they are more prone to disasters. Measures that can be taken are the construction of light buildings so as to lessen the disaster. In Japan there is construction of light buildings so as to reduce the impact of disasters such as earthquakes which are rampant in those areas. This is done to reduce the number of deaths due to trappings in hazard events such as earthquakes for example flooding along Missipi River in 2005 was reduced in mitigation measures by constructing levees to increase the drainage .This had lessened the impact of flooding

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The United Nations has adopted the decade of 2000s as the international decade for natural Disaster Reduction. The aim was to achieve a significant reduction in the loss of life and material damage caused by disasters by the end of the decade .The most important critical part of implementing mitigation is the full understanding of the nature of the threat. In each country and in each region the types of hazards faced are different. Some countries are prone to floods others have histories of tropical storm damage and others are known to be in drought regions for example countries like Somalia, Ethiopia drought have not spurred them while counties like Japan and China floods are rampant in these region. For mitigation to be effective or to yield positive results there is need for risk assessment where one can be able to identify type of a disaster which may affect a particular area so that mitigation measures that may be used may be effective .For instance Muzarabani is to floods while areas such as Chivi and Mberengwa are prone to drought. There is need for mapping and taking foot walks so that one is able to see the exact disaster affecting a particular area. Vulnerability assessment is a crucial aspect of planning effective. Therefore vulnerability implies both susceptibility to physical and economic damage and lack of resources for rapid recovery. The understanding of how the occurrence of a natural hazard turns into a disaster enables us to forecast likely situations where disasters are possible. Mitigation that may be put in place to deal with this disaster is likely to address the problems of a certain area. In Chivi where there is a drought structural measure such the construction of dams to start irrigation may help to curb this disaster. Therefore risk assessment is very important aspect in mitigation strategy

An alternative approach is to develop mitigation policies in consultation with local community groups using techniques and actions which they organise themselves and manage little resources with limited outside technical assistance. Such community based mitigation programmes are considered more likely to result in actions which are a response to people’s real needs and contribute to the development of the community, its consciousness of the hazards it faces and its ability to protect itself in the future, even though technically the means may be less effective than larger scale mitigation programmes. This will tend also to maximise the use of local resources including labour, materials and organisation. However Akonor (2008) postulates that most governments and large development agencies adopt a top down approach to disaster mitigation planning whereby the intended beneficiaries are provided with solutions designed for them by planners rather than selected for themselves. This was further buttressed by Karikari (2009) who argues that such top down approach tend to emphasize physical mitigation measures rather than social changes to build up the resources of the vulnerable groups. They rarely achieve their goals because they act on symptoms not causes and fail to respond to the real needs and demands of the people. Ultimately they undermine the community’s ability to protect itself. Therefore community should participate so that they bring out their concerns and mitigation strategies that may be put in place respond to the real needs of the people.

In addition mitigation also entails the protection of the economy from disaster. There is need to some policies or to diversify the economy. Most African countries rely much of their economy on agriculture. Agriculture sector of the economy are most vulnerable to drought. Although measures that focus on protecting the most vulnerable elements and activities the weakest links in different sectors of the economy help to protect the achievements of economic development. There is no doubt that if countries diversify the economy it means that of one sector of the economy is affected for example in Zimbabwe which rely much on agriculture if it diversify its economy to sector such as manufacturing, mining therefore it means that if agriculture sector is affected due to the ever changing and unfavourable climate conditions it can be able to help its citizens with services and needs drawing some of the money from other sectors. This is why developed nations have got high levels of mitigating disasters due to diversification and also to technological innovations. Moyo (2009) assets that developing countries are more vulnerable to disasters than developed nations. Therefore economic diversification is an important tool in mitigation strategy

Mitigation also entails the formulation of policies that may help in dealing with natural disasters .Government should ensure that the citizens are aware of a certain hazard that may affect them .Public awareness is very important in mitigation. The community should be aware of the risk that that may hit their area. The government should provide telecommunications both electronic and manual. This helps the people to take effective measures before a hazard occur .For example the government of Haiti informed the people about the floods and people were able to evacuate the places in time .Mitigation involves not only saving the lives and injury and reducing property losses but also reducing the adverse consequences of natural hazards to economic activities and social institutions .Therefore a government that may not give its citizens information may be held responsible for the occurrence of disasters as Masunungure (2007) contends

In addition to non structural measures the government should put some policies in terms of legislation where there is strengthening of legislation that may prohibits anyone who may carry activities that may cause disaster .In Zimbabwe the government has put some stiff laws to those who may start fire willingly. Environmental Management Authority (EMA) has put in place jail terms to those who may bun the bush .The Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe has also been put in place so that they can help in curbing road accidents by imposing high fees for causing accidents in roads which takes away lives of many people         

   

Disaster Preparedness

Disaster Preparedness

Disaster  preparedness can best be described as measures put in place before a disaster event which are aimed at minimizing loss of lives, disruption of critical services and damage of property and infrastructure when disaster occur. Preparedness seeks to achieve a satisfactory level of readiness to respond to any emergency situation through programmes that strengthen technical and management capacity to governments, communities and individuals to build their capacities in order to reduce the impact of a disaster. According  to Global Crisis (2000) ‘’It is logistical readiness to deal with disasters and can be enhanced by having response mechanisms, procedures ,rehearsals, developing long term and short term strategies, public education and building early warning systems “It is therefore clear that the sole purpose of disaster preparedness is mostly to build people’s resiliency to different hazards which may cause a disaster. In the disaster management discourse, disaster preparedness is a pre­­­-disaster phase activity put in place before a disaster and goes hand in hand with mitigation although mitigation is surpassed by preparedness in most cases. To show the value of disaster preparedness, Virtual University (1998) argues that ‘’In local circumstances and because of proneness to disasters disaster mitigation is important but preparedness is doubly important “Thus disaster prepared if correctly implemented can built capacity, improve resiliency and reduce vulnerability to the vicissitudes of disaster.

 Disaster preparedness measures are put in place to achieve certain objectives prior before the disaster which threatens a particular community. Disaster preparedness includes implementation of mitigation measures to ensure that existing infrastructure can withstand the forces of disaster or that people can respond in their communities and at the same time protect themselves. The absence or shortage of infrastructure and resource to mitigate disasters therefore means that the vulnerability is very high and capacity is low to respond to a disaster. Thus preparedness measures vary from one place to another depending on how policies are reinforced to influence response mechanisms as long term and short term strategies. For example the preparedness level of two countries such as Zimbabwe and United State of America are different due to the fact that their capabilities of resource inventories are different. This can be seen by the impact of disasters which struck these two countries in recent years. According to Anderson (2002) ‘’The impact of hurricane Cathrina in 2005 in America was less severe on the community and individuals due to the fact that America has a vibrant economy and strong preparedness mechanisms which can reduce the impact of a disaster although the long term effects were considered severe.’’ The difference can be seen by the same disaster which struck Mozambique in 2003 in tsunami which destroyed infrastructure and many people and more so, the disaster had severe implications on the Mozambican economy due to the fact that it attracted international assistance to help people cope up during the post disaster period.

Disaster preparedness seeks to achieve different objectives in the disaster management discourses. The aims of disaster preparedness is to achieve the universal goal of reducing the impact of a disaster so as to meet the interest of people to the lowest possible individual’s rights in a society. It is meant to reduce deaths to the lowest level in case of a disaster, to reduce the destruction of infrastructure which can threaten the livelihoods of people as well as resources which may also threaten sustainable development. It is therefore very vital for development practitioners to make sure they encompass those objectives in the disaster risk reduction strategies especially in the pre-disaster phase. The above mentioned points therefore validate the assertion that’’ there is nothing called natural disasters but disasters are man- made events.’’ To validate this view which can see that vulnerability is not homogenous and vary from one place to another and from one community to another depending on how strong and practical the disaster preparedness is. This can be seen in a natural floods hazard which threatens Sudanese people in 2013 leading to the displacement of 400 000 people, as postulated by France 24. Thus in actual fact there is questionability of  the Sudanese disaster preparedness due to the severity of the disaster impact.

The disaster preparedness puts into effect the disaster preparedness plan into operational activities in order to provide a framework in which to encompass the guiding principles to operate under in case of a hazard event which is likely to threaten peoples livelihoods. The most crucial element in disaster preparedness is the emergency operations plan which at national level or community level to set out the scope of activities required for community preparedness and response. Thus to come up with a disaster preparedness plan which suits a particular community is to include hazard identification and vulnerability analysis in your planning. This is done to unearth underlying causes, dynamic pressures and vulnerability mapping which exposes people to hazards and disasters. With the 21^st century disasters are very dynamic with hazards such as oil spillage and technological disasters being at the forefront. For example according to www.presstv.ir.com ‘’an oil spillage in Thailand of about 5000 litres in a dam was a disaster that was unplanned for thus exposing people to the risk of disaster of that kind.’’ Moreover, another dimension brought by Anderson (2005) “There is need for gender mainstreaming in disaster preparedness because involvement of women,children,community based organisations of marginalized groups and elderly broadens the range of ideas proposed for and incorporated into disaster planning and results that are more disaster resilient.”

Moreover, disaster preparedness also takes into account emergency exercise training that is meant to equip communities and individuals to acquire skills and technical knowhow on how to respond collectively in a disaster situation. Some people may be attitudinal vulnerable due to lack of training and expertise to educate them on how to survive in a disaster event.Mcaleb argues  that “People continue to be vulnerable to disasters not because we are not doing anything but we are doing too much that is counterproductive” For example a fire hazard that may cause a disaster may be harmful if people lack emergency exercise training on how to use fire fighters and the erection of fire-fighters in public transportation systems can be taken as  preparedness measure to reduce people’s susceptibility to disasters caused by fire hazard.

Furthermore, it is undeniable a fact that the presence of a more vibrant early warning systems to mitigate and reduce the impact of a disaster is a panacea. This refers to proper early warning system that is put into place to forewarn people about an imminent hazard and enable them to use mitigation measures to lessen the impact of a disaster. This can be seen in flood prawn areas such as Muzarabani where floods affects many people due to the absence of a viable early warning system that is meant to update people of different hazard events. Formation of early warning network can therefore strengthen the community’s capability to respond to hazard events and curtail them since it allows for collective action and responsibilities in effecting measures that goes a long way in disaster preparedness. The use of indigenous knowledge systems is another crucial element in fostering disaster preparedness activities. Communities have a vast knowledge on predicting and early warning, food production and storage techniques in averting disasters. For example according to UNEP (2000) “In Swaziland where drought and occasional floods are common disasters communities used the height of the Emahlokohloko bird (Ploceus) on trees to predict flooding” Thus indigenous knowledge system can be used as a sustainable tool in disaster preparedness.

Another important aspect in disaster management is the need for resource inventories in order for proper disaster preparedness. There is need for the mobilisation of resources such as people to carry out preparedness activities, equipment that is to be used in preparedness plans as well as systems that need to be put in place to curtail ever changing paradigm shifts in disasters such as technological disasters. Thus in drafting the evacuation plans that are to be used in emergency situations the entire community has to be educated and taught how to understand and interpret evacuation plans and more so those plans should be made easy to understand since not all people are educated. For in public transport systems such as buses and trains, there are some illustrations which are put in place to enable people to respond for their safety during times of disasters such as accident or fire outbreak.

The other important aspect in disaster preparedness is mutual aid agreements that are put in place to ensure minimal losses in times of disasters. This involves constructive efforts by all stakeholders to develop key ties in disaster risk reduction efforts. This involves co-operation at community, national and regional levels in a bid to collectively respond to any hazard event which may cause a disaster. Thus collective efforts ensures that every individual’s efforts are realised n order to come up with a preparedness plan which is a one size fits all. For example the signing of memorandum of understandings with other countries and engaging in bilateral agreements can spur help in times of hazard events. This can be seen in the flooding which affected Indonesia in 2013 resulting in the death of many people has attracted support from humanitarian organisations such as World Food Organisation as well as World Health Organisation who were key players in relief and recovery after a disaster event.