The Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee affairs (MIDIMAR), has welcomed the proposal by the Regional Disaster Management Centre of Excellence (RDMCOE) to construct a business complex that will be housed at RDMCOE’s home in Kileleshwa, Nairobi.

According to RDMCOE’s Director, Shem Amadi, the complex will be a ‘fusion’ centre, containing office blocks, a hotel, a conference centre, gym and restaurant, expected to house staff members, disaster and humanitarian agencies operating in the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes Region and also generate funds to sustain itself.

"I want to assure you that the centre has the full support of my ministry,” Marcel Gatsinzi, Minister of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs, said.

The centre, whose membership includes Burundi, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Djibouti, Seychelles, Eritrea, Ethiopia and the DR Congo, came into existence after the Committee of Ministers meeting that took place in Addis Ababa in 2003 with the aim of establishing a mechanism for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) initiatives.

Antoine Ruvebana, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, noted that the expansion of the centre into a business entity will increase the centre’s capacity to achieve its mission of reducing the risk of and attending to disasters on the continent.

Amadi said that there is need for African countries to provide solutions to disaster management by pooling capacity to increase the centre’s efficiency and flexibility other than relying on foreign aid and expertise.

 "The centre is in a strategic position to spearhead disaster and humanitarian tasks in the region, but due to limited funding, our capacity has been constrained,” he said.

The region is currently facing drought and food shortage which calls for more food aid. According to 2010 statistics, almost 2.25 billion pounds is spent on food supplied to the African continent.

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