Dr Jean-Pierre Nana, Director of Civil Protection in the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, talks on measures taken by government to prevent and mitigate the effects of disaters.

What are some of the disaster risks Cameroon is exposed to?

As you know, Cameroon is presented as Africa in miniature and that diversity is also found in the typology of risks we face. We have natural and human-made risks. When we talk of natural risks, we think of the Mount Cameroon volcanic eruption, gas eruption in Lake Nyos, floods, landslides, amongst others. But we also have social risks when a lot of people are affected by conflict and there is a refugee situation. Refugees are an emergency that can be seen as human disaster.

We also have disasters caused by diseases such as cholera outbreaks in the Northern regions. There are man-made disasters like accidents on the road. Every year, we record more than 1,000 deaths on the roads, so it is a very big disaster. Fire incidents are another form of man-made disasters that we witness in markets, homes and public offices. So, Cameroon is exposed to various risks. We can say that Cameroon is a reflection of Africa in its diversity, but also disaster-prone. 

In the face of these disaster risks, what measures does the government adopt to pre-empt them or mitigate the consequences?

Government is not just waiting for disasters in order to take action. In Cameroon, we have four phases of disaster management. As the adage goes, prevention is better than cure. So prevention is the first phase in our disaster management strategy. In this phase, we sensitise and build the information gap.

We also have the preparation phase where we build capacities to give people the ability to act and foresee disasters before they happen. As you know, failing to prepare is preparing to fail. This phase is very important and what we are doing now falls in the preparatory phase as experts, governments from all over Africa and many other stakeholders have come to see how we can build the capacities of those who decide in disaster management.

It is also important to note that we have no influence over some disasters. When they happen, we have to react. In the response phase, we have some structures like the Fire Brigade and the Directorate of Civil Protection with a fund to take care of all what happens in disasters. Government assists the population, councils and all those who are exposed to disasters. After disaster, the last phase is rehabilitation. We need to build resilience to help people affected by disaster to be able to restart new lives. For example, after the Lake Nyos Disaster, the government built a whole programme for security and restoration of the population.

What lessons can Cameroon learn from the 7^th African Working Group holding in Yaounde?

The meeting will be of a very great help to us. Since March 2015, the world adopted a new way of managing disasters in Sendai. Cameroon was there with a delegation headed by the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation. In Sendai, the whole world decided that civil protection and disaster risk reduction will be the main targets in investment policies. This is because there is a link between disaster management and development, and disaster management and environment. Cameroon will be able now to take stock of what was discussed in Sendai and adopt its own strategies.