Formal emergency management, particularly for natural hazards, is relatively nascent in many countries, despite the long-standing impacts of the problem. Natural hazards and disasters, such as landslides, earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, heatwaves, and droughts, continue to devastate many localities, resulting in significant loss of lives and economic burden. The need for academic research on this pressing issue is more crucial than ever.

The African Union promotes emergency management across its member states. For instance, it collaborates with its member countries to implement the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015–2030), acknowledging the rising frequency and severity of natural disasters across the continent, which have both immediate and long-term impacts. The framework is a significant development of the post-2015 development agenda, seeking to provide states with concrete actions to mitigate the risk of disasters and protect development gains within and across countries. This special issue will explore various topics in emergency management in Africa.

Call for Submissions

This Special Issue invites original papers, both theoretical and empirical, that provide an in-depth understanding of natural hazard and disaster management in Africa. It highlights the crucial role of emergency management education, research, and practice in Africa’s pursuit of sustainable peace and development. As the continent experiences frequent and devastating natural disasters, understanding the state of the field of emergency management, managing hazards and disaster impacts, and building community resilience is crucial.

The Special Issue aims to examine the following five dimensions:

1. Emergency management education and profession in Africa: Emergency management education is the science that provides the knowledge and skills needed for careers in emergency management to address the problems of natural hazards and disasters.
2. Emergency management cycle: The impacts of natural disasters can be managed to reduce their impact. Effective mitigation and preparedness are vital to the response and recovery phases.
3. Natural disaster vulnerabilities: The continent is vulnerable to a myriad of natural disasters. These include meteorological, geological, hydrological, climatological, biological, and extraterritorial events. This theme focuses on the vulnerabilities of communities and populations across the continent to these hazards.
4. Cross-thematic: Papers that integrate various thematic areas above.

Timelines

Submission start date: October 20, 2025.

Submission end date: December 31, 2025.

GUIDELINES FOR THE SUBMISSION OF ARTICLES

Articles submitted to YALJOD must be original work that has not been published previously and is not currently under consideration by any other publication.

All authors must note that the consequences for violation of copyright laws or infringement will be duly borne by the defaulting author.

Please carefully read through and ensure you comply with the guidelines stated, as any breach of the submission rules may lead to the rejection of your paper.

• Each paper must be accompanied by the author’s profile summary of no more than 100 words. This should include the author’s qualifications and affiliated organization. The summary must be written at the end of the article.
• Each paper must be accompanied by a brief abstract – a short and powerful summary that describes the focus of your research work.
• Article must not exceed 6,000 words, including references.
• Articles must be in Times New Roman, font size 12, and double-spaced.
• Tables, models, diagrams, or photographs should be within the text, and NOT as an appendix.
• Citations and referencing should follow the recent APA style.
• Manuscripts should be submitted via regular email and should take the form of an attachment formatted in MICROSOFT WORD (send to yaljod@yalf.africa).

Due to the large volume of papers we receive, we regretfully cannot provide individualized critiques for most manuscripts that we reject. However, we will ensure we automatically confirm the receipt of articles once they arrive.

OTHER CONDITIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF ARTICLES:

To successfully submit articles for publication, prospective authors must meet the following requirements:

• Must hold at least a bachelor’s degree obtained from a reputable tertiary institution.
• Must not have sent the article for consideration in another publication.

Selected authors will be invited to present their papers at the YALF International Conference, July 2026