Policing Law for Disaster Risk Response in Ethiopia: The case of COVID-19
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18485/ijdrm.2025.7.2.22Keywords:
disaster, collaboration, hazard, vulnerability, policing, state of emergencyAbstract
This paper examines the role of police services in disaster response, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia. Using a desk review methodology, the study involved document analysis and interviews with five members of a command post responsible for managing the health crisis. Thematic analysis of the data reveals that the police have a legal mandate to manage disasters, grounded in various legal frameworks, including the FDRE Constitution and relevant proclamations and policies. The findings highlight the police's responsibility for enforcing emergency laws, which included regulations on physical distancing, mask-wearing, and quarantine measures. The Ministry of Health specifically tasked the police with ensuring compliance with COVID-19 directives. However, the study identifies significant challenges, including jurisdictional conflicts, overlapping emergencies, insufficient collaboration among command post members, and the political implications of suspended national elections, which were controversially linked to moral rather than health issues. To enhance disaster response, the paper recommends establishing disaster risk management focal points within the police and creating clear directives defining police roles in disaster management. Furthermore, it advocates integrating disaster risk management training into police education programs, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive approach to disaster preparedness and response within the police force.
Downloads
References
1. Addis Standard. (2020). Tigray region declares state of emergency to prevent spread of COVID-19.
2. Awal, M. A. (2020). Vulnerability to disaster: Pressure and release model for climate change hazards in Bangladesh. International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Protection, 2(1), 15–21.
3. Cvetković, V. M., Nikolić, N., Öcal, A., Martinović, J., & Dragašević, A. (2022). A predictive model of pandemic disaster fear caused by coronavirus (COVID-19): Implications for decision-makers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(2), 652. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph190100652
4. Emergency Coordination Center. (2019). Guideline approved by the Minister of Peace.
5. Ethiopia Disaster Risk Management Policy and Strategy. (2013).
6. Ethiopia Federal Police Establishment Proclamation No. 720/2011.
7. Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) Constitution. (1995).
8. Incident Command System. (2019). Guideline approved by the Minister of Peace.
9. Khorram-Manesh, A. (2017). Handbook of disaster and emergency management.
10. Masson, V. L., Lim, S., Budimir, M., & Podboj, J. S. (2016). Disasters and violence against women and girls: Can disasters shake social norms and power relations?
11. Matewos, K. (2025). Domestic hiking tourism for post-COVID recovery and transformation. International Journal of Disaster Risk Management, 7(1), 283–300. https://doi.org/10.18485/ijdrm.2025.7.1.16
12. McEntire, D. A. (2015). Disaster response and recovery: Strategies and tactics for resilience. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
13. Multi-Agency Coordination. (2019). Guideline approved by the Minister of Peace.
14. New Port, K. J., & Jawahar, G. G. P. (2024). Management of COVID: The creeping disaster in the Indian scenario. International Journal of Disaster Risk Management, 6(1), 103–110. https://doi.org/10.18485/ijdrm.2024.6.1.7
15. Öcal, A., Cvetković, V. M., Baytiyeh, H., Tedim, F. M. S., & Zečević, M. (2020). Public reactions to the disaster COVID-19: A comparative study in Italy, Lebanon, Portugal, and Serbia. Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk, 11(1), 1864–1885. https://doi.org/10.1080/19475705.2020.1761559
16. Ojha, J. C., Bhattarai, P. C., & Devkota, B. (2025). Teachers’ perception towards responses of COVID-19 pandemic management in Gandaki Province of Nepal: A cross-sectional survey. International Journal of Disaster Risk Management, 7(1), 485–494. https://doi.org/10.18485/ijdrm.2025.7.1.27
17. Oxley, M. (2015). Review of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. Disaster Prevention and Management, 44(3).
18. Pearson, L., & Pelling, M. (2015). The UN Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030.
19. State of Emergency Proclamation No. 3/2020 enacted to counter and control the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate its impact.
20. United Nations General Assembly. (2015). Resolution 69/283: Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 (A/RES/69/283).
21. Burkle, F. M. Jr. (2015). Global health security and disaster management: The challenge of integrating health systems. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 9(2), 153–162. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2015.5
22. Aldrich, D. P. (2012). Building resilience: Social capital in post-disaster recovery. University of Chicago Press.
23. Wang, Y., & Zhang, Y. (2020). The importance of mental health in disaster management: A case study of the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Disaster Research, 15(3), 511–520. https://doi.org/10.20965/jdr.2020.p0511
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Negesse Asnake Ayalew
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This journal operates under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction, adaptation, and transformation in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
Authors retain the copyright of their articles.
The International Journal of Disaster Risk Management (IJDRM) encourages and permits authors to:
-
Post pre-print (submitted version), post-print (accepted version), and publisher’s version/PDF of their articles on personal websites, institutional repositories, disciplinary repositories, and academic networks such as ResearchGate, Academia.edu, or departmental websites,
-
Do so at any time, including before or after publication,
-
Provided that appropriate credit is given to the original publication in this journal, including:
-
Full bibliographic details
-
A clear mention of the journal name
-
A direct link to the article’s DOI (as an HTML link)
-
No prior permission is required from the publisher or editors for such actions, as long as the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license are followed.
