Turkana County faces a number of disasters, both natural and human-made which includedrought, foods, landslides, earthquakes, stormy rains, strong winds, hailstorms, pestinfestations, diseases outbreaks, fret and traffic related accidents. Over the decades, theintensity, frequency and severity of some of these disasters haves steadily been increasing,triggered by climate change variability, urbanization, population growth, aridity, andenvironmental degradation.Disasters cause death, disrupt peoples livelihoods, endanger human and food security,damage infrastructure, disrupt ecosystem functions, and hinder socio-economic growthand development.The County has experienced repeated episodes of droughts and foods that have affectedthe agriculture sector leading to massive livestock deaths and chronic food insecurity.Due to large resources allocated to respond to these disasters, little recovery times andlarge economic losses, there has been increased poverty levels of rural and peri-urbanhouseholds and reduced ability of the county government to invest in key social-economicsectors which are overall important to reducing poverty. There is therefore an urgent needto address potential disaster risks for the socio-economic development of communities.The development of the County Disaster Risk Management Policy is a major steptowards achieving sustainable development in line with county, national and internationalframeworks. The policy will facilitate the effective coordination at all levels by leveragingon collective capacity by Government, communities and other stakeholders towardseffective disaster preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery.This policy calls upon all sectors and stakeholders to pursue proactive, integrated,innovative and realistic strategies with strong partnerships and networks for sustainabledevelopment. The policy guides all government, non-governmental organizations, privatesector, media and development partners to effectively integrate disaster risk managementprograms in all sectors.The policy proposes establishment of comprehensive institutional and legal framework,political commitment as well as provision of adequate resources for Disaster RiskManagement.I laud all stakeholders for their contribution towards the development of this policy. It is,therefore, my sincere hope that all stakeholders in the county will align their activities toensure that communities are resilient to disasters for sustainable development. Lastly, myGovernment is committed to ensuring successful implementation of this policY.

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