RISK management flaws exposed inadequacies at the education and healthcare sectors when the coronavirus epidemic struck like a thief in 2020.
There was a scramble in hospitals across the country to prepare for the expected and unprecedented increase in patient admissions to general wards and ICUs.
Another challenge was presented by hospitals rapidly exhausting their medical-grade oxygen supply. It was urgently needed to be resolved.
It was a great thing that Namibia’s corporate companies jumped in to help by funding the importation bulk supplies of oxygen.
Rotary Club Windhoek asked for donations of mobile oxygen concentrators to Rotary clubs in Germany.
Other community service organisations have similar support programs to secure respiratory equipment in hospitals and old-age homes.
Private schools were quick to adopt virtual teaching. They also printed and distributed learning aids to their students.
The new teaching style did not benefit more than a small percentage of the many thousands of students in Namibia’s primary schools and high schools.
To this day, it is difficult to believe that so many children have not returned to school after a prolonged closing. What is their future?
Inadequate readiness in the education sector can have devastating consequences for years.
However, it wasn’t only the education and healthcare industries that witnessed firsthand what happens when there’s no risk management planning.
It is well-known that risks can only be mitigated if they are not addressed.
Failure to implement risk management strategies has also had a negative impact on other sectors.
You may recall the gaps in supermarket shelves and how essential products like medicines became scarce.
Keep an eye out for those businesses that were not essential providers of goods or services and had to close their doors.
Many of these businesses are still closed and their employees are unemployed.
The principles of risk management are also applicable to business. Smart entrepreneurs who paid attention were able to survive difficult times.
They had learned to be disciplined with money and avoided borrowing from excessive consumption. They also had a plan for when they would need them.
We learn from our parents and older brothers and sisters that danger lurks around every corner. We are taught to manage risks and avoid potential harm.
We all know the consequences of not taking care of our belongings: theft, damage, loss, or loss.
As we age, we are faced with many challenges, including intellectual, spiritual, and physical. It is important to make smart and sensible choices.
As Murphy’s Law teaches, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong”.
Covid-19 has highlighted the importance and necessity of risk management. It must not be forgotten by any country’s leadership, business owners, or individuals in their personal lives.
* Reach Danny Meyer at [email protected]
Source: namibian
