A state-of-the-art examination of disaster management in Sierra Leone: the implementation drawbacks, research gaps, advances, and prospects

Abstract

Unfolding events have shown that Sierra Leone is enduring various disasters at a worrying rate. While progress is being made in disaster management, activities that degrade the fragile ecosystem, exacerbated by climate change, poverty, and bad governance, remain growing concerns. Amid these concerns, there is inadequate information to take appropriate actions. The authors wish to provide a solution by examining 35 publications from various scholarly and grey literature and raw data sources, following a critical review process designed to expose the implementation drawbacks, research gaps, advances, and prospects in disaster management in Sierra Leone. The study results show that lapses in data management, fewer professionals, and inefficiencies in communication are the most pressing considerations for improving disaster management in the country. Inadequate funds to implement management plans remain pervasive. Following these findings, we recommend that all first responders be routinely exposed to international tabletop exercises and simulated disaster response training to help them build their capacities and learn from other countries. Students in the relevant disciplines should be encouraged to participate in these exercises to facilitate early learning. Also, management initiatives should consider gender equity, the situations of the disabled, and other vulnerable groups at all levels of planning and implementation of activities. Future studies should assess the influence of social media on disaster management research and practice in the country.

Sociological Trilogy of Cultural Community on Exposure Peril of Monsoon in Western Rural and Urban, Sierra Leone

“…(University of Sierra Leone,Fourah Bay College,Department of Sociology and Social Work,Student Handout,. This theorisation is conformable with these prospective or suggested by the initial social inquiry parties, for instance, Enu, 2023;Turay and Gbetuwa, 2022. In contrast, a peril is ". .…”

“…The immense repercussions and plate of monsoons in Sierra Leone can partially be ascribable to absence of exposure foresight measures and ability to efficiently contradict augmenting cultural community susceptibility (Turay and Gbetuwa, 2022). Further than frequently, insufficient funds, social strategy lacunae and a receptive as opposed to a receptive perspective to exposure reaction have been devised as some of the paramount elements directing to the gravity of exposure shocks in Western Rural and Urban Sierra Leone.…”

Exhaustive Insights Towards Social-Media Driven Disaster Management Approaches

“…Further, social media is reportedly used for awareness campaigns and training to conduct community engagements [67]. It was also noted that monitoring social media can significantly assist the authorities in assessing real-time concerns [68], identifying emerging issues [69], and measuring public sentiments [70] using sentiment analysis and data analytics.…”

Classifying disaster risk reduction strategies: conceptualizing and testing a novel integrated approach

“…Simply investing in preparedness frameworks and actions has been slow due to a lack of political will in countries from Kenya [ 12 ] to the United States [ 13 ] to Pakistan [ 14 ], with most governments allocating investments to disaster response efforts because those are more visible and leaders often think will have more value to constituents. Poor governance, environmental degradation, poverty, and climate change can also compound one another to make a country’s disaster management more focused on response rather than preparedness and prevention [ 15 ].…”