The role of the Kenya Defense Forces in disaster Management

Abstract

This study aims at determining the role of the Kenya Defense Force (KDF) in disaster response management which has been adopted by Kenya Ministry of State for Defense (KMSOD), Kenya. It also seeks to determine various response strategy used by KDF. The literature review highlights various military response roles that have been used around the world, Africa, and then narrows down to Kenya. Among the major ~F response roles identified are: search & rescue, casualty evacuation, opening of communication lanes, clearance of debris, relief operation, field hospitals, provision of ground equipment, fire fighting, digging of borehole and dams, maritime search and rescue, sea casualty evacuation, maritime surveillance, supply drops and air surveillance. The literature review does not however reveal whether specific response strategies are in use in by99 KDF hence the need for data collection. Data will be collected using a semi-structured questionnaire which will be administered to the respondents. Once the questionnaires have been filled, they will be checked for completeness and then entered into SPSS. Descriptive statistics will then be generated and displayed in tables and charts. Inferences will be made using frequencies/percentages. Expected outputs include prevalent response strategies. Other outputs will include the role of the government, NGOs, CBOs and local government in coping with adverse effects of disasters.