Assessment of Higher Education Institutions' Man-Made Disaster Preparedness Nairobi, Kenya.

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to discuss the higher institutions level of man-made disaster preparedness. It is based on a study carried out in educational institutions in Nairobi County Kenya. The study sought to answer the questions: How are the universities prepared for all existing and potential man made hazards? Are there any risky areas and practices in the universities? And do the universties have a practical disaster preparedness and emergency action plan? With the view of gaining more insight on this matter a descriptive survey design which focused on the level of disaster preparedness in the institutions was used. The assessment was conducted between October 2015 and January 2016. The sample size constituted four universities; 3 public universities and 1 Private University with a total of 452 respondents. The universities were purposively sampled due to their location within Nairobi city. The respondents were proportionately sampled from the universities using simple random sampling technique. Data was collected through use of questionnaires, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, observations and secondary data were also used. The research established that 59.9% of the respondents professed that the target institutions were not prepared with respect to man-made disasters while, 41.1% perceived otherwise. About half of the respondents 49.73% reported having low level of awareness on responding to man-made disasters. The assessment concludes that there exist unsafe prevailing circumstances in the target institutions premises that increase the vulnerability of their population to man-made disasters. The target institutions are unprepared to handle potential man-made disasters and the situation could be worsened due to the low levels of awareness among their population. The study recommends that the institutions endeavor to establish operational emergency preparedness/action plans for common man-made disasters and invest in man-made disaster preparedness training to enhance awareness among the population at the institutions.
Key Words: Disaster, Preparedness, Assessment, Hazards, Institutions and Education