🛡️ Building a Resilient Zambia Together!
The National Disaster Risk Management Policy (NDRMP) 2024–2028 is Zambia’s strategic blueprint for managing and reducing disaster risks. Spearheaded by the Office of the Vice President and coordinated by the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU), the policy shifts national efforts from a reactive response model to a proactive, preventive, and resilience-focused approach aligned with global standards like the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
🎯 Vision
A nation resilient to disasters, where communities, the private sector, and government collaborate to reduce risks and respond effectively to emergencies.
🧭 Core Objectives
- 🌿 Reduce disaster risks and enhance climate change adaptation across all sectors.
- 🚨 Strengthen disaster preparedness and improve early warning systems for timely action.
- 🚑 Improve emergency response capabilities to protect lives and livelihoods.
- 🤝 Enhance coordination among national, provincial, and local disaster management structures.
- ⚖️ Promote inclusivity, equity, and social protection for vulnerable groups.
- 📊 Improve monitoring & evaluation systems to track and enhance disaster risk management outcomes.
🔍 Key Features of the Policy
- 📌 Covers natural, human-induced, and emerging hazards – including floods, droughts, epidemics, refugee crises, and industrial accidents.
- 📌 Empowers local communities through Satellite Disaster Management Committees (SDMCs).
- 📌 Mainstreams disaster risk reduction (DRR) in national planning, budgeting, education, and infrastructure development.
- 📌 Integrates climate adaptation with DRR to address Zambia’s growing vulnerability to extreme weather events.
- 📌 Establishes multi-level structures from the national to the community level, including new District Disaster Management Officers in all 116 districts.
- 📌 Promotes the use of early warning systems, indigenous knowledge, and digital tools for anticipatory action.
- 📌 Establishes the National Disaster Trust Fund to support both emergency response and resilience-building initiatives.
🤲 Inclusive & Collaborative Approach
The Policy is grounded in the principles of:
- 🧍♀️ Humanity & Impartiality – ensuring that all affected individuals are treated with dignity.
- 🧑🦽 Inclusivity – addressing the specific needs of women, children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, migrants, and refugees.
- 🏛️ National and community ownership – with roles for government, civil society, traditional leaders, the private sector, and individual citizens.
- 🤝 Partnerships – engaging the United Nations, NGOs, development partners, and academia in coordinated risk management efforts.
💡 Why This Policy Matters
📉 Zambia’s vulnerability to disasters—particularly floods and droughts—has increased, affecting over 1.7 million people annually and causing significant losses in agriculture, infrastructure, and energy.
💸 Without investment in preparedness, the cost of responding to disasters is 10–12 times higher than the cost of prevention.
🏗️ The policy aims to safeguard lives, strengthen infrastructure, and protect the economy by reducing risks before disasters strike.
📞 Need Help or More Info?
Call the DMMU Toll-Free Line: 909
Let’s work together to create a safer, stronger, and more prepared Zambia. 🇿🇲✨
