Influence of risk governance on disaster risk management in communities: the Kenya Red Cross Society

Abstract

This study sought to analyze the influence of risk governance on disaster risk management at Kenya Red Cross Society. Specific objectives were to examine the influence of stakeholders‟ involvement on disaster risk management at Kenya Red Cross Society, to explore the influence of risk assessment on disaster risk management at Kenya Red Cross Society, to investigate the influence of risk visualization on disaster risk management at Kenya Red Cross Society and to assess the influence of risk communication on disaster risk management at Kenya Red Cross Society This study used the descriptive survey design. The target population for this study was the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) staff in which case, the employees in this organization were surveyed. Respondents were the members of KRCS national council. Non-probability sampling technique was used where purposive sampling was applied to select the respondents in the study. A sample of 102 respondents was selected through stratified random sampling where the strata were the various departments at Kenya Red Cross Society. In this regard, the six main departments (Administration, Human Resource, Finance, Corporate Planning, Operations and ICT) were the strata. Hence, 17 respondents were selected from each department. Primary data was collected using a questionnaire that was administered to the selected staffs at Kenya Red Cross Society through drop and pick method. Statistical Program for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 was used in data analysis. Quantitative data was analyzed through descriptive statistics of percentages, means, standard deviations and frequencies. Qualitative data was analysed through content analysis. In this regard, the researcher organized the qualitative data into themes in accordance to the study objectives. The study found that there is quite a high level of stakeholders‟ involvement in disaster risk management at KRCS. In particular, it is inferred that KRCS largely engage the general public, local authorities and community leaders in disaster risk management. It is also deduced that risk assessment affects disaster risk management to a great extent in the organization. This is mostly attributed to: single-risk assessments in KRCS that determine the likelihood and consequences from a particular hazard; conducting risk assessments on the vulnerability of different groups to a particular disaster as well as risk assessments on the consequences of a disaster event or hazard and the associated likelihood of its occurrence. Drawing from the study findings, the researcher recommends that KRCS should ensure that they conduct balanced assessment of epidemiological, environmental and socio‐economic drivers of risk. This will greatly help in ensuring a complex and more informative risk assessment for improved disaster risk management.