East African journal of public health
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East Afr J Public Health · Jun 2013
A descriptive analysis of the institutional frameworks for disaster management in Uganda: structures, functions and gaps.
There is insufficient documentation of the institutional frameworks for disaster management and resilience at different levels in sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of this study was to describe the institutional framework for disaster management in Uganda, and to identify actionable gaps at the different levels. ⋯ The institutional framework for disaster management in Uganda needs to be strengthened at all levels through initiation of the relevant structures, training, and resource allocation so that they develop disaster management plans.
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East Afr J Public Health · Jun 2013
Regional approach to building operational level capacity for disaster planning: the case of the Eastern Africa region.
The Eastern Africa region is regularly affected by a variety of disasters ranging from drought, to human conflict and population displacement. The magnitude of emergencies and response capacities is similar across the region. In order to strengthen public health disaster management capacities at the operational level in six countries of the Eastern Africa region, the USAID-funded leadership project worked through the HEALTH Alliance, a network of seven schools of public health from six countries in the region to train district-level teams. ⋯ University partnerships are an effective method to build district-level disaster planning capacity. Use of a regional network created a standardized approach across six countries.
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East Afr J Public Health · Jun 2013
A situational analysis of priority disaster hazards in Uganda: findings from a hazard and vulnerability analysis.
Most countries in sub-Saharan Africa have not conducted a disaster risk analysis. Hazards and vulnerability analyses provide vital information that can be used for development of risk reduction and disaster response plans. The purpose of this study was to rank disaster hazards for Uganda, as a basis for identifying the priority hazards to guide disaster management planning. ⋯ As Uganda develops a disaster risk reduction and response plan, it ought to prioritize epidemics of infectious diseases, drought/famine, conflics and environmental degradation as the priority disaster hazards.
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East Afr J Public Health · Jun 2013
Institutional frameworks for management of epizoonotic emergencies in six countries in the Eastern Africa region: a situational analysis.
The Eastern Africa region is a hot-spot for epidemics of emerging zoonotic diseases ('epizoonotics'). However, the region's capacity for response to epidemics of zoonotic origin has not been documented. This paper presents a multi-country situational analysis on the institutional frameworks for management of zoonotic epidemics in the Eastern Africa region. ⋯ There is need to strengthen veterinary public health services at all levels, but with a 'one health' approach. There is also need to establish 'risk-based surveillance' hot spots for zoonotic epidemics and to build community resilience 'epizoonotic' diseases.
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East Afr J Public Health · Jun 2013
Use of the Automated Disaster and Emergency Planning Tool in developing district level public health emergency operating procedures in three East African countries.
Sub-Saharan Africa is vulnerable to several natural and man-made disasters. We used the CDC Automated Disaster and Emergency Planning Tool (ADEPT) to develop all-hazards disaster management plans at district level in three eastern African countries. ⋯ The ADEPT can be used relatively easily, quickly and inexpensively at the sub-national levels to develop emergency operating procedures to improve disaster management. Although the ADEPT enables district disaster response teams to generate their disaster response plans, the use of the ADEPT may be hampered by lack of computer skills and knowledge of MS computer programme by district personnel in resource limited settings.