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1. Introduction
The frequency and intensity of disasters have increased over the last few decades creating a global concern for effective disaster management. The annual average number of deaths resulting from natural disasters in the years 2003-2012 was 106,654 (Guha-Sapir et al., 2014). The cost of disasters is comparatively larger in developing economies than in their developed counterparts (Noy, 2009). Dilapidated living conditions with poor water and sanitation systems exacerbate this issue. The recent episodes of epidemic outbreaks have created a large global burden on humanitarian efforts. The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa affected roughly 25,000 people and claimed approximately 10,000 lives in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone (CDC, 2014). The 2008 cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe reached its peak with over 8,000 cases reported in a single week. As of 2013, cholera alone represented an estimated 1.4-4.3 million cases, and 28,000-142,000 deaths per year worldwide (World Health Organization, 2014).
This study develops an evidence-based tool using the Haddon matrix concept to respond to the dire needs caused by an epidemic in a developing country. The nature of the response varies depending on the nature of the disaster. Slow-onset disasters permit organizations to plan ahead of time, while sudden-onset disasters demand quick response within a very short timeframe. Most humanitarian organizations have specialized areas of expertise, such as water and sanitation or healthcare services (OCHA, 2014). This makes coordination among responding organizations and other actors, such as logistical service providers, critical (Bealt et al., 2016). For example, Apte et al. (2016) emphasize the core competencies and capabilities of the US military that are useful during disaster response operations. Nonetheless, the degree of collaborative action among responding organizations seems to be poor during the disaster response phase. Further, evidence of learning from past disaster events appears low. Approximately two years prior to the cholera outbreak in Haiti, Zimbabwe experienced what was termed the “worst cholera epidemic in Africa” (Mason, 2009). Zimbabwe’s poor standards of healthcare were similar to those in Haiti during the October 2010 cholera outbreak (Ahmed et al., 2011; Walton and Ivers, 2011). However, the evaluation reports examined in this research indicate that only a few large NGOs, such as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) utilized the lessons learned from the experience...