An analysis of information Communication Technologies for natural disaster management in Africa

The natural disasters caused by climate change (droughts, floods) occur in a way that is unpredictable for humans and cause major destruction. The use of Information and Communication Technologies appears to be an effective way of disaster management worldwide. Shreds of evidence of this statement still lack in Africa, which is considered as the most vulnerable continent. This study empirically analyzes the impact of Information and Communication Technologies on natural disaster management in Africa. The econometric approach is based on the estimation of a panel data model using the Ordinary Least Square (OLS), Generalized Method-of-Moment (GMM) and Fixed-Effect Poisson estimators (FE). The results strongly suggest that cell phone and internet penetration reduce the negative consequences of natural disasters. Thus, it recommends to the governments of these countries to strengthen the creation and diffusion of ICT capacity.