Ghana needs comprehensive action plan for disaster management – UN

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction has challenged Ghana to develop a comprehensive action plan for disaster response and management.

According to the UN, Ghana and Africa have a scattered disaster response initiative, that makes it difficult to track progress and results.

Despite progress in enhancing disaster risk reduction across the continent, it remains highly vulnerable and at risk to hazards which threaten to undermine the development and safety of African countries and communities.

A particular area of concern for the UN remains Africa’s limited availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems in which to inform anticipatory action and disaster preparedness against approaching hazards.

In recent years this issue has become increasingly critical and a priority matter in the face of increasing frequency and impacts of hazards experienced by both the continent and the global community.

Though African Countries have policies and initiatives geared towards disaster risk reduction, lack of harmony and coordination between implementing agencies remain a setback.

A focal person at the West Africa Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land use, WASCAL, Dr. Seyni Salack, advocates for a comprehensive action plan for Ghana.

“We realized that Ghana has a lot of agencies including G-Met, NADMO, Ghana Hydrological Authority, and all these agencies are doing their own thing, and there is a challenge, so if we can have all of them with a focused roadmap, then that makes it easier for progress”, he advised.

To address this continental challenge, the United Nations Office by early warning systems within five years For Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), in collaboration with the CIMA Foundation, DIMSUR, PERIPERIU the RCMRD, and WASCAL, and with support from the Government of Italy, have initiated a project in which to establish a Network of Centres of Excellence (NoE) for early warning and anticipatory action.

Speaking at the opening of a training for stakeholders, Executive Director of WASCAL, Professor Emmanuel Wendsongre Ramde, emphasized the readiness of his outfit for the project.

“We at WASCAL believe in Capacity Building and we find this project key to giving people the needed training and get them prepared for the disaster risk reduction task ahead”, he noted

Project Manager at the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) James Wajohi Nyaga was positive about achieving the desired outcome with the implementation of the project.

The establishment of the Centers of the Network of Excellence aims to draw on expertise to develop and strengthen institutional capacity across the continent.

Director for Climate Change Adaptation and Risaster Risk Reduction at NADMO, Charlotte Norman applauded the organizers for the training, highlighting how relevant it will be for the Ghanaian agencies.

“This is the time that everybody is looking up to NADMO for disaster assistance, so this training has come at the right time, and we know it will go a long way to impact how we operate and help us with disaster management,” she added.