Cabinet Establishes New Federal Rapid Disaster Response Agency | The Reporter Ethiopia

The Council of Ministers has approved a regulation establishing the Ethiopian Fire and Other Rapid Onset Disasters Service.

The Service is mandated to be the first responder, federally, to sudden natural and man-made disasters, such as fires, earthquakes, landslides, floods, chemical contamination, and aviation accidents. It will be accountable to the National Disaster Risk Management Commission.

The Service is tasked with introducing standards, codes and national systems to respond to disasters, and will also be responsible for issuing professional licenses and certifications to institutions and individuals engaged in emergency response.

The regulation that established the Service indicates its staff will include paramilitary personnel and para-medical professionals in addition to ordinary staff and directors. The Service is expected to prepare standards for pre-hospital treatment and ambulance services.

Its funding will be sourced from the government budget and the recently established Ethiopian Disaster Risk Response Fund, among other sources.

The Service is also charged with creating a national database for fire and rapid onset disasters, and will also be responsible for organizing simulation exercises. It is expected to equip its staff with necessary equipment and machinery, including small aircraft, helicopters, boats, and high-frequency satellite communication radios, among other things.

Further directives are expected to detail how the new institution will discharge its duties.

ENDRMC praised the approval of the regulation that establishes the Service.

“The Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission expresses its profound appreciation to its leadership for their visionary direction, strategic stewardship, and unwavering commitment, which were instrumental in securing the approval of this significant legal framework. This important achievement reflects the leadership’s steadfast dedication to strengthening the nation’s disaster risk management system and enhancing Ethiopia’s resilience to fire and other rapid-onset disasters,” stated the Commission.