Preparedness for Recurrent Drought Disaster: Insights from the Sudano-Sahelian Zone of Cameroon

This study examined drought preparedness of drought-prone communities in the Sudano-Sahelian zone of Cameroon. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected using interviews, household surveys, focused group discussions and field observations. SPSS and content analysis were used to analyse quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. The study revealed that a significant proportion (ꭓ2 =11.676, P= 0.020) of the respondents rely on community leaders for drought information, use indigenous knowledge, plant trees, stockpile food/fodder, and construct boreholes/wells as ways of preparing for droughts. However, the limited government supports, insufficient formal training, and weak drought management institutions limited drought preparedness. There were gender and age differences in the use of indigenous knowledge for drought preparedness whereby older people significantly (P< 0.05) used indigenous knowledge to prepare, whereas there was no relationship (P= 0.766) between gender and the use of indigenous knowledge for drought prediction. The study concludes that local communities are not fully prepared to alleviate the adverse impacts of droughts on their livelihoods. However, with the establishment of drought management committees at the grassroots level and the effective use of local knowledge in combination with scientific knowledge for drought planning and adaptation, communities will be better placed to deal with droughts. Given the geographical variation of climatic stressors, a focus on a specific event such as drought has enhanced understanding of drought disaster preparedness at the community level for effective planning and policy interventions. This study contributes to the literature in the disaster preparedness discipline with a lens on community drought preparedness. Keywords: Drought Preparedness, Drought, Community preparedness, Disaster, Northern Cameroon