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There is an urgent need for Ghana to adequately prepare for the proper management of disasters and other emergencies as the risks of terrorism, pandemics and extreme natural disasters intensify around the world.
According to the Ambassador of Israel to Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Madam Shlomit Sufa, preparing, forecasting and responding in a timely manner to emergency situations, were key elements to saving lives and preventing long-term economic implications.
She was speaking at a forum organised in Accra by the Israeli Economic and Trade Mission Embassy to Ghana, in collaboration with NADMO to discuss Ghana’s disaster risk reduction strategy.
The ambassador stated that the State of Israel has had to contend with numerous mass incidental casualties mostly caused by terrorism.
As a result, Israel she said, had developed practical national preparedness policies for responding to such events.
She said “Israel’s emergency management system includes contingency planning, command and control, centrally coordinated response, cooperation and capacity building.”
Madam Sufa hoped that some of Israel’s innovative solutions could be applied in Ghana to enhance emergency preparedness and crisis management.
Director General of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr Eric Nana Agyeman-Prempeh in his address said technology and collaboration were key enablers in the development and implementation of a multi-hazard approach to early warning and broader risk reduction.
He cited the devastating fire and flood disaster of June 3, 2015 where about 150 persons lost their lives, as a typical example of a multi-disaster emergency that required an advanced technology to deal with.
He indicated that Ghana as a country had recorded a wide range of disasters, with flooding being the most common among them, occurring every year.
Touching on the possibility of an earthquake occurring in the country, he said Ghana could not rule that out, as there had been numerous tremors occurring over the past few years.
He revealed that records at the Ghana Geological Survey indicated a series of approximately 11 earth tremors on December 12, 2022, spanning nearly two and half hours.
This, he said had become a source of great concern with fear and panic rising in the minds of many people.
On his part the Head of Israeli Economic and Trade Mission to Ghana, Mr Yaniv Tessel reiterated the need for Ghana to find innovative means of tackling floods and other disasters in the country.
