General overview of the disaster management framework in Cameroon

Area of Science:

• Disaster Risk Reduction
• Public Administration
• Environmental Management

Background:

• Natural disasters pose significant threats globally, necessitating robust management frameworks.
• Effective disaster management is crucial for mitigating the impact of hazardous events.
• Cameroon's natural disaster management framework requires critical examination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive review of Cameroon's natural disaster management framework.
• To analyze the legislative, institutional, and administrative structures in place.
• To evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of disaster managers' actions.

Main Methods:

• Critical review of existing disaster management policies and legislation in Cameroon.
• Analysis of institutional and administrative frameworks at national, regional, and local levels.
• Empirical data analysis on the performance of disaster managers.

Main Results:

• Findings indicate inadequate disaster management policies and poor inter-institutional coordination.
• A lack of trained disaster managers and a skewed management system were identified.
• The framework is characterized by a top-down hierarchical structure.

Conclusions:

• Cameroon's disaster management framework faces significant challenges.
• Policy recommendations are proposed to improve institutional and administrative structures.
• Enhancing disaster preparedness and response requires addressing identified systemic weaknesses.