Assessing progress in reducing the number of disaster-affected people: insights from Zimbabwe

In 2015, 187 countries including Zimbabwe appended their signatures to the Sendai Framework which has seven global targets. Target B calls on all nations to substantially reduce the number of people affected by disasters by 2030. To promote the measurement of progress in attaining Target B, the United Nations provided some technical guidance methodologies. Using the case of Zimbabwe, this study quantified the indicators of Target B to assess the country’s progress in reducing the number of people affected by disasters. Quantitative data came from public sources published by the government of Zimbabwe spanning 1990 to 2022. Although the Sendai Framework came into effect in 2015, using the 1990–2022 data enabled the trend analyses to ascertain the extent to which the framework pushed the government of Zimbabwe to reduce the number of people affected by disasters. This data was analysed through 3-year and 5-year moving averages. The study also used qualitative interviews to explain the trends in disaster-affected people. Results showed a slight increase in the number of people affected by disasters where drought was affecting millions of people yearly while storms and epidemics were sporadic and characterized by big spikes. The study concluded that Zimbabwe is not attaining Target B. To significantly reduce the number of people affected by disasters, the study offered three policy implications including the need to strengthen drought preparedness/mitigation, and disease surveillance and control systems.