According to him, NADMO should not be limited to the sharing of blankets, bags of rice, cooking oil and sugar, among other items, but it should rather focus on increasing public awareness for people to know what to do to prevent disasters.

“Available statistics at NADMO indicate that 80 per cent of all disasters in this country are as a result of human-induced activities.

So that means that only 20 per cent is the act of God or natural phenomenon,” he said.

Clean-up

Mr Amoo said this when he joined residents of Top Town and American Farm at Ngleshie Amanfro in the Ga South Municipality of the Greater Accra Region to undertake a clean-up exercise in their communities.

The annual clean-up exercise is organised by the Global Information Centre, in partnership with churches, welfare groups, landlord associations, among other groups in the area.

Mr Amoo, who is also a former Member of Parliament for the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency, mentioned poor environmental sanitation as one of the human-induced activities that caused disasters and commended the residents of American Farm and Top Town for coming out in their numbers to take part in the exercise.

“Environmental cleanliness inures to the good health of a people.

Disaster is not only limited to earthquake, flash floods, Tsunamis and bush fires.

Health problems are even more devastating, especially when there is an epidemic from disease outbreak and pestilence,” he said, and called on other communities to emulate the people of American Farm and Top Town to clean their communities regularly.

Enthusiasm

The Member of Parliament for the Bortiano-Ngleshie Amanfro Constituency, Alhaji Habib Saad, who joined the exercise, lauded residents for the enthusiasm shown to clean up their communities and wished that the event was held about four times in a year to ensure the area was constantly cleaned.

“I am highly impressed at the huge turnout. The people must be commended for the communal spirit they have shown.

I pledge my support and will always be part of it,” he said.

The General Manager of the Global Information Centre, Ms Amanda Andoh, said the centre was a community-based dissemination facility which focused on environmental sanitation as “part of its free community services to the neighbourhood”.

Activities

This year’s exercise dubbed: “Make Amanfro Clean”, is the second to be organised by the information centre.

During the event, residents desilted gutters, swept the streets and cleared weeds to tidy up the area.

It began at 5 a.m. with individuals and organisations providing water, soft drinks, food and porridge to support the exercise.

The clean-up exercise was held alongside a free medical screening provided by the American Farm Community Clinic.

At the event, participants in the clean-up exercise were counselled and screened for various ailments.

The residents commended the Global Information Centre for mobilising and encouraging them to come out to engage in the exercise.

They believed that if such an exercise would be allowed to continue, then American Farm and Top Town would always be clean and free from epidemic.