The Humanitarian Leadership Academy has launched its first African Academy Centre in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Academy Centre will be working with the humanitarian sector focused on enabling people to be better prepared for disasters, conflicts and other emergencies.
Currently, Kenya and East Africa are not able to respond to emergencies and disasters adequately and thousands of people are left without food, water, shelter or medical aid.
Ambassador Mahboub Maalim, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), said: “I have seen first-hand the hardship and trauma that people go through when they are suffering from drought or a conflict. We must make sure that the East Africa region and the Horn of Africa, is more coordinated, more expertise and a cross-border effort. The launch of the Kenya Academy Centre will analyse what is required and generate appropriate knowledge and so local communities can respond in an emergency and be more resilient.”
“What we have learnt in recent conflicts and disasters such South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia and Burundi, is that we cannot work as individual countries but as a combined effort to save people’s lives.”
Charles Lwanga-Ntale, Kenya Academy Centre Director for the Humanitarian Leadership Academy said: “The Kenya Academy Centre will be reaching out to partners across Kenya and other East African countries with a view to identifying better learning and capacity enhancement that will lead to better preparedness, response and recovery for local communities. Whether it is a flood, drought or even a conflict, every individual is affected and needs to know what to do in times of crisis.”
“This is a great opportunity for the world to see that Kenya’s innovations in the sector can be scaled up in the rest of the region for the benefit of local communities,” he added.
The Humanitarian Leadership Academy is opening ten centres around the world to identify key hotspots where better learning and training will lead to better response and long-term sustainability for communities.
The Humanitarian Leadership Academy is a global learning initiative set up to facilitate partnerships and collaborative opportunities to enable people prepare for and respond to crises in their own countries.