Homa Bay assesses local capacities to avert, minimise and address disaster displacement

On 23 and 24 November 2023, the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD) and the Council of Governors (CoG), in collaboration with the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the Geneva office of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) hosted representatives from the Government of the Homa Bay County and from organisations supporting Disaster Risk Management work in the area to assess local capacities to avert, minimise and address disaster displacement. 

The assessment was run using the “Scorecard Addendum on Displacement” tool, which has been developed by UNDRR and NRC to complement with displacement-specific questions and actions the broader DRR capacity assessments local actors can perform through UNDRR’s “Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities”. The addendum covers a broad variety of topics, ranging from policy and data to preparedness and capacities for durable solutions, allowing for the identification of capacity gaps and the prioritisation of follow-up actions.

The workshop was attended by over 30 participants, comprising representatives of all relevant departments of the County Government, sub-county representatives, and international and non-governmental organisations working on displacement and disaster risk management. In particular, the meeting was attended by Ms Grace Mercy Osewe, CEC Member for Governance, Administration, Communication and Devolution. While being a multii-stakeholder engagement cutting across administrative levels, the capacity assessment exercise and most follow-up work will be the primary responsibility of her office.

Over the two-day event, the participants were introduced to issues related to disaster displacement and were able to analyse to what extent local planning, budgeting, and operational capacities integrate displacement considerations. Their reflections will now be integrated in an action planning exercise to identify follow-up work that can be supported during the PAMAD project, and beyond.