Effective disaster management through timely hazard identification and risk reduction is a necessity to protect human, economic and environmental resources that are needed for accelerated and sustainable development of the nation, Mr. K. T. Hammond, Deputy Minister for the Interior, said on Wednesday in Accra.
He said when a serious disaster, such as the 2007 Ghana floods occurred, a timely and effective humanitarian response was needed to reduce their effects on vulnerable populations and to help bring victims back to normal life.
It is one of the recommendations made after a review conducted on lessons learnt from on the 2007 floods. It is aimed at improving the response capacity, especially with regard to co-ordination and information sharing.
The workshop, which is organized by United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, brought together officials from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Ministries, Civil society, United Nations Agencies, International Federation of the Red Cross, International Organisation of Migration, non-governmental Organizations and the private sector.
Mr Hammond noted that a contingency plan was crucial, especially in the emergency response phase where swift and decisive actions must be taken to save lives and property and also alleviate the suffering of victims.
He said the Ministry would soon publish a national disaster management plan and associated standard operating procedures prepared by NADMO and its stakeholders for efficient management of disasters at all levels.
Mr Hammond said NADMO had technical advisory committees for all types of disaster, which offered technical advice on prevention and management of these disasters and expressed the hope that the workshop would help strengthen the institutions to effectively respond to disasters and similar emergencies.
He said the management of disaster, as an integral part of national development efforts, was a concept, which had gained acceptance throughout the world, adding that this principle had been recognized by the government and incorporated into the Ghana Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy document.
Mr Amadou Toure, United Nations Development Programme representative, said there was the need for disaster risk reduction to be incorporated in any national development planning.