Africafé : Advancing Natural Disaster Management Strategies in Africa

March 21, 2024

The profound impacts of natural disasters on lives, economies, and communities underscore the need for comprehensive understanding and proactive measures. These disasters disrupt livelihoods, displace populations, and strain resources, exacerbating vulnerabilities in both urban and rural areas. The economic toll is significant, hindering development efforts and causing long-term setbacks due to infrastructural damage. Drawing lessons from other countries like Brazil, Africa recognizes the imperative of building resilience in communities to mitigate the impacts of natural disasters. Implementing measures such as early warning systems, robust infrastructure, and community-based disaster preparedness initiatives can bolster resilience and minimize casualties. Moreover, investing in education and capacity-building programs further empowers communities to respond effectively to crises. By learning from Brazil's experiences, African nations are poised to strengthen their natural disaster management strategies and enhance their ability to withstand and recover from such adversities.

Speakers
Eduardo Amaral Haddad
Senior Fellow
Eduardo A. Haddad is Full Professor at the Department of Economics at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, where he directs the Regional and Urban Economics Lab (NEREUS). He is additionally a Affiliate Professor at the Faculty of Governance, Economic and Social Sciences of the Mohammed VI University. He also holds a position as Affiliate Research Professor at the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory – REAL – at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. He is a Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, Rabat, Morocco. Prof. Haddad has published widely in professional journals on regional and interregional input-output analysis, computable general equilibrium modeling, and various aspects of regional economic development in developing countries; he ...
Ahmed Ouhnini
Economist, Policy Center for the New South
Ahmed Ouhnini is an Economist at the Policy Center for the New South. His research area covers agricultural economics, human and social development. Previously, he has worked as a researcher at the Paris School of Economics (PSE) and has also a record of working in consulting services in Morocco. Ahmed holds an engineering Diploma in Agriculture and Rural Development from the National School of Agriculture of Meknes and a Master’s Degree in Law, Economics and Management from the Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne Institute of Development. ...

RELATED CONTENT

  • Authors
    Sous la direction de
    June 10, 2026
    Bientôt disponible en vente. Le rapport annuel sur la géopolitique de l’Afrique est cette année à sa dixième édition, cela fait donc dix ans que le Policy Center for the New South consacre à l’Afrique une tribune par laquelle les africains tentent de récupérer le narratif sur leur continent. Ce chiffre 10 n'est pas anodin : il marque la maturité d'un projet éditorial fondé sur une conviction simple mais exigeante : l'Afrique doit se penser elle-même, depuis elle-même, ...
  • June 10, 2026
    L’édition 2026 du Rapport annuel sur la Géopolitique de l’Afrique (RAGA) du Policy Center for the New South analyse un continent africain saisi par une double transformation : celle du système international, plus fragmenté, plus conflictuel et plus transactionnel ; et celle des environn...
  • Authors
    June 8, 2026
    The energy shock caused by the war between the United States and Israel and Iran has highlighted the need for Africa to refine more of its own crude oil. Africa is a net hydrocarbon exporter, but remains stuck in the old colonial economic model: it mostly exports raw materials and imports refined products. Africa exports about 2.6 billion barrels of crude oil every year, and imports about 1.4 billion barrels of refined products. This is a problem for two reasons. First, Africa ...
  • Authors
    Karim El Mokri
    Idriss El Abbassi
    June 8, 2026
    Bientôt disponible en vente sur amazon et Livremoi. Le monde du travail est engagé dans un processus de mutation sans précédent. La quatrième révolution industrielle, portée par l’intelligence artificielle (IA) et la robotisation, a été le point de commencement d’une ère nouvelle où les repères économiques et sociaux se redéfinissent à une vitesse inédite. Ces technologies suscitent un engouement légitime et offrent des perspectives prometteuses, mais requièrent une vigilance a ...
  • June 5, 2026
    Driven by its mission to reflect on and analyze the major geopolitical, economic, and societal transformations shaping the contemporary world, and with a view to contributing to knowledge-sharing and disseminating the main outcomes of its research program, the Policy Center for the New South regularly publishes collective volumes addressing issues of particular importance to Morocco, Africa, and the broader Global/New South. In this spirit, the Center has recently released two volum ...
  • June 4, 2026
    Cet épisode revient sur les principaux enseignements du chapitre consacré au secteur extérieur marocain, en mettant en lumière le paradoxe d’un déficit commercial structurel persistant combiné à une forte résilience des équilibres externes. Badr Mandry explique comment les transferts de...
  • June 1, 2026
    Cette interview met en lumière le rôle central du secteur textile et de l’habillement dans l’économie marocaine, tant en matière d’emploi que d’exportations. Notre économiste, Mr. Fahd Azeroual revient sur son évolution historique, ses principaux défis, notamment la dépendance aux impor...