A Community Based Resilience Analysis (CoBRA) framework has been introduced to Ethiopia as part of the country’s strategy to scale up efforts to combat climate change impacts and enhance Disaster Risk Management (DRM).

The CoBRA is a tool which complements ongoing extensive district risk profiling exercise and enables disaster prone communities to participate in ongoing resilience building debates and decision making processes.

The CoBRA was piloted in the Yabello district, Oromia Region back in December 2013 by DRMFSS, the ACDRM, the Oromia Region Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission with the support of UNDP Ethiopia and the UNDP Dryland Development Centre. The findings of the pilot assessment were introduced and discussed at a national conference.

The conference, held in Addis Ababa on 3 April 2014,was organised by the Disaster Risk Management and Food Security Sector (DRMFSS) of the Ministry of Agriculture in partnership with the African Centre for DRM (ACDRM) with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Development partners, including UN agencies, international NGOs, and representatives from the various government offices attending the conference expressed interest in the CoBRA approach and emphasised the importance of involving communities in building a more resilient Ethiopia. Many also called for a stronger integration of the CoBRA to the ongoing district level risk profiling.

The DRMFSS is leading on the extensive district risk profiling exercise to help the country to prepare for disasters before they occur. “Resilience is a holistic concept that depends on the interconnectedness of physical, social, environmental, human, political and economic conditions,” explained the Acting Director of the Early Warning Directorate Muluneh Woldemariam. Calling upon partners to support the DRMFSS’ flagship district risk profiling initiative, Mr. Muluneh Woldemariam stressed, “Building resilience cannot be done by approaching one of these attributes in isolation and by one institution alone”.

UNDP supports various DRM initiatives and complements the efforts of the federal and regional governments to ensure substantial reduction of disaster risks.