National Disaster Risk Management Plan 2013.

Disaster Risk Management encompasses a full continuum of aspects including preparedness, Disaster Risk Reduction, mitigation, prevention, relief, recovery and reconstruction. The National Disaster Management Policy (NDMP) specifies the tasks to be performed by institutions and individuals to deal with identified disaster types. These tasks cover all the cycles of disaster management with a specific focus on Disaster Risk Reduction, Relief and Recovery. This plan aims at strengthening Disaster Risk Management in order to preserve life and to minimize suffering by providing sufficient and timely early warning and relevant information to the population on potential hazards that may result in disasters. Disaster Management ultimate goal is to alleviate suffering by providing timely and appropriate responses for disaster affected populations. The Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs (MIDIMAR) will coordinate all Disaster Management initiatives within a unified policy framework in a proactive manner at national, district and sector levels.
The National Disaster Management Policy (2012 revision) provides the following goals for Disaster Risk Management: a) Prevention of disasters and their impact on families, infrastructure and the environment; b) Building resilience of families and communities to disasters by reducing their vulnerability and increasing their ability to withstand and minimize the effects of disasters and complex emergencies through adapting to climate change by enhancing preparedness; c) Providing fast, coordinated, effective and appropriate responses to disasters and complex emergencies; d) Ensuring timely recovery from disasters and complex emergencies, and leaving communities and families in a better position to withstand future hazards. Food security responses should aim to meet short-term needs, reduce the need for the affected population to adopt potentially damaging coping strategies and contribute to restoring longer-term food security. Food security is an important issue during a disaster and therefore needs specific attention. MIDIMAR has to mobilize food items from strategic stores and exhort responsible partners to avail their food assistance. Effective response provision of food to the affected population requires some principles to be followed. The following are to be noted in a food aid programme: Food assistance is given following disasters which have significant effect on food crops, Free food assistance is provided to the beneficiary for a minimum period of 3 to 4 months. Vulnerable peoples are to be given priority attention when distributed relief and this should be given timely, regularly and in a gender-sensitive way and without putting extra burden on the receivers.
The plan is to be used by all government and non-government sectors as the basis for developing and maintaining their own sub-plans, systems and arrangements (e.g. health, transport, agriculture, and public works). It is intended that the plan should be seen as a work in progress, which will be successively revised as improved operational procedures are developed and as the government and non-government sectors further develop disaster risk reduction activities. Based on these overarching goals, the Disaster Risk Management Plan seeks to achieve the following key objectives: Strengthen the institutional capacity of MIDIMAR and its stakeholders to effectively implement disaster management programmes; Pursue the vision, mission and goals of disaster management laid down by the National Disaster Management Policy; Create a cohesive and well coordinated programming framework incorporating Government Agencies and Departments, Non-Governmental Organizations and the private sector in Rwanda; Mitigation of the impact of disasters on livelihoods, property, the environment and economic activity; Perform appropriate research that will support an effective implementation of the plan and upgrading the scope of the plan to respond to the changing risk environment; Integration of Disaster Risk Management into the strategic and operational planning and project implementation of all line functions and role players within the Government.
The Gender working group for disaster management is the main team responsible for this aspect (see Table 4: Cross-cutting working group in Rwanda). Gender has to be mainstreamed in disaster preparedness measures through several sectors: Measures to enhance legal protection in the domain of disaster preparedness should be taken into consideration to ensure regularly review policies and plans and take immediate action to mainstream gender into all planning and programmes related to disaster risk management; to support research institutions to study the cost benefit and efficiency of gender sensitive policies and programmes in disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and poverty reduction, etc. Human development and knowledge dissemination aims to increase women’s participation in programme and project coordination and secure equal access to relief assistance between men and women; Ensure women and men’s equal access to early warning systems; Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever the nationality, the place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. Everybody is equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination.