Building disaster resilience through capacity building in Ethiopia

摘要

Purpose – Building institutional capacity to prevent, prepare and respond to disasters is amongaspects emphasized in the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 to enhance the resilience ofdisaster-affected communities. Lessons from past programmes could help the design andimplementation of future capacity building interventions with a view to making them both a meansand an end in themselves in building disaster resilience of communities and nations. This paper aimsto explore the issues. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on the authors' experiences and reports ininstitutional capacity building in Ethiopia. Findings – Institutional capacity building programmes should adopt a non-intervention approach,using existing structures. Programmes should be demand-driven and beneficiary-based rather thansupply-driven and should be holistic and integrated with coordination being an important ingredient.Capacity building is a slow process and unless all partners are willing to make a choice in favour ofassessing and working the holistic and integrated capacity building will struggle to make a lastinginfluence in reducing disasters and their impacts to Ethiopians. Practical implications – With capacity building being at the centre of the building community,resilience, coordination by donors as well as government agencies is fundamental. Originality/value – The paper illuminates areas of good practice as well as complexitiessurrounding the delivery of the disaster resilience through capacity building and how governmentsand development and humanitarian agencies are implicated.