Disaster risk reduction

The backbone of the food security program is the disaster risk reduction (DRR) component. The operational area is prone to various hazards that affect the general livelihoods and food security situation of the community. Common hazards include floods, conflict, and drought. The DRR sector supports the community to address the various challenges and mitigate against the effects of the hazards in the community.The sector implements both emergency response, early recovery and resilience building activities.


Emergency response

During emergency outbreaks, such as conflict and floods, the program conducts general food distributions (GFD) and essential non-food items (NFIs) to vulnerable households to address the immediate life-saving needs. NFIs usually include shelter construction materials, hygiene, and kitchen kits. The emergency response is determined by the findings of an initial rapid needs assessment (IRNA). The target participants for emergency responses are usually internally displaced populations (IDPs) in the program area. After a few months, the communities under the emergency response graduate into the early recovery phase.

Early recovery and resilience

The program engages the community to rehabilitate prioritized community assets to support and facilitate livelihoods recovery activities. The assets are identified and prioritized through a consultative and participatory process that includes hazard mapping. The main assets usually identified for rehabilitation are rural access roads, excavation of water ponds, construction, and rehabilitation of secondary flood control dykes, the opening of flood water drainage channels within human settlements and farmlands. The program uses food for asset (FFA) approach to facilitate and compensate community members for their time and labor as they are involved in the asset rehabilitation and creation work. Once complete, these assets are handed over to the communities for utilization and maintenance.


Sustainability and ownership

The community-driven approach is used to ensure sustainability and ownership of the projects implemented in the community. Prior to the implementation of the program, the community sets up an overseer committee known as the community managed disaster risk reduction (CMDRR). The CMDRR approach gives the community the power to make the decision on how to address the various challenge caused by hazard event in their community. The approach puts the community at the center stage of decision-making process in the program implementation with the leadership of the CMDRR committee. Such community driven initiatives are usually sustainable as they are also owned by the community.

RFSP DRR Program Video