The Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) says the National Disaster Risk Management Communications Strategy (NDRMCS) has proven to be a success.

The department’s spokesperson Chipiliro Khamula said as a disaster risk management body the strategy has equipped communities in the country with information to do with disasters and risk management.

Khamula said the strategy has proven to be a success in the sense that it has exposed communities to issues to do with disaster and risk management.

“Throughout the five years the strategy was given we have managed to alert communities that are exposed to hazards on the preparation, mitigation, and their reaction in cases of disaster occurrence,” he said.

He also said that during the implementation process, they have conducted different trainings that were meant to equip the media on the accurate reporting on disaster and risk management.

“We are now pleased to say that we have an assurance that the media is reporting the right content in as far as dissemination of information on disaster and risk management is concerned due to those trainings,” he narrated.

Khamula further expressed gratitude that even though challenges were there during the implementation of the strategy but rather admitted that the challenges were not that huge.

The strategy which is currently under a review process was launched in 2014 following consultations from various disaster risk management stakeholders and was given a life span of five years.

The strategy has since been implemented by DoDMA with support from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).