Residents of Googo sensitized on Disaster Prevention

Cross section of  participants    

A day’s sensitization programme aimed at building the capacity and resilience of communities against disasters has taken place at Googo, a farming community in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region. The sensitization programme organized by the Bawku West District NADMO office and World Vision International was attended by over 150 participants. It was the second in the series to be organized in the district and has the capacity of educating communities to respond effectively to disasters. Participants as part of the programme were taken through series of topics including community profile, hazard mapping, human resource mapping of areas, as well as seasonal and food calendar of the community, among other important areas. With these topics, community members would be able to know the flashpoint of disaster, identify disaster prone areas and also build their resilience to cope and prevent disasters when they occur. The Bawku West District NADMO Coordinator, Moses Aduk-pam told Radio Ghana that the aim of the sensitization programme was in response to the legislative instrument that establishes NADMO by Act 517 of 1996.  This is also in line with NADMO’s mandate of ensuring disaster prevention, as well as risk and vulnerability reduction, as a means of reducing the impact of disasters on society. The programme, Mr. Aduk-pam further said backs NADMO’s disaster emergency plan which gives a broad spectrum of activities that are being followed as a timeline to best manage and prevent disasters. He said NADMO as an organization plans to refocus their attention to disaster prevention instead of disaster management. This way, most people especially those in disaster prone areas of the country would be able to identify where and when disaster may occur. He said as when and how they occur affects the daily lives of affected victims and requires prevent measures to withstand and respond to them effectively. He mentioned some common disasters as draught, flood and epidemics such as Cerebral Spinal Meningitis (CSM) among other seasonal illnesses.  According to him, NADMO will continue to embark on such sensitization programme to educate the people on the urgent need to take precautionary measures in order to best prepare effectively before disaster occur. Asked whether NADMO was in the position to replicate the programme in other communities in the district, Mr. Aduk-Pam was confident that with the support from NGO’s and corporate organizations, NADMO in its capacity would extent such programmes to benefit more communities, especially those along the White Volta. A disaster control officer, Martin Akaane for his part called on the support of government and NGO’s in making the community disaster preparedness plan workable. This he said was a draft policy document designed by NADMO to assist communities to effectively prepare for disasters. Mr. Simon Agazire, a community disaster volunteer for NADMO, expressed optimism that the programme was going to influence people’s attitude towards disaster, particularly the need to adapt to preventive measures before disaster strikes. He said as a first step in responding to disasters, affected victims should report to disaster volunteers for the necessary action to be taken. 

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