Ghana And Nigeria To Collaborate On Disaster Management

The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) is to collaborate with its Nigerian counterpart to share satellite images for early disaster warnings.

Nigeria launched its satellite last year to orbit the earth, and NADMO hopes it will help to monitor disaster zones in Ghana to determine exact areas where assistance is needed in the event of any hazards.

Mr Douglas Akrofi Asiedu, National Co-ordinator of NADMO, announced this at a workshop on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change, organised by ActionAid in Accra on Thursday.

He said that his organisation has identified the district offices as the basis for effective decentralisation planning in disaster risk reduction 'but they need revatilisation since they have been dormant in being pro-active toward disaster risk reduction.'

The National Coordinator of NADMO said it is high time people in flood prone areas take measure to reduce the risk of flood especially as the peak of the rainy season approaches.

Mr Akrofi Asiedu said most of the floods occurred because people in flood prone areas looked on unconcerned when garbages choked their drains while others build on waterways.

'We must be proactive in taking measures to save life and property, unfortunately people do nothing to reduce the risk of disaster but only wait for disasters to descend on them only for them to also discard on us for relief items,' he said.

He tasked the disaster management committees at district and regional levels to meet and find ways of sending the message of disaster risk reduction down to the people for it to gain currency at those levels.

In a speech read on her behalf, the country director of ActionAid in Ghana, Adwoa Kluvitse, said her organisation aims at broadening public awareness on disaster risk reduction to make it everybody’s business.

'It is an undeniable fact that if nothing is done towards building a culture of disaster risk reduction in our society we shall sadly be visited by disaster time and time again,' she said.

She pointed out that the occurrence of disasters are going to be worsened by effects of climate change and those who will be most affected will be the vulnerable in our society, women and the children.

Ms Kluvitse said it is heartwarming that NADMO has been reorganised to focus more on disaster preparedness and prevention than response as a new policy direction.

She said if Ghana aims towards making disaster risk reduction a national priority, then the National Emergency Management Services Bill of 2006 and a proposal for amendment to Act 517 to back the formation of a National Platform which will take charge of disaster reduction should be passed, she said.