ECOWAS takes strides in improving and strengthening response and management of disasters in the region
Heads of civil protection directorates and disaster management agencies from ECOWAS member countries have gathered in Niamey, the Republic of Niger Capital city for the 15th consultative meeting of the Regional Committee for Disaster management in West Africa (GECEAO).
The four (4) day workshop began on the 8th May, 2023 creating a platform which allowed participants to mutually enrich each other’s experiences in order to improve the capacities of national services in charge of civil protection to develop more effective responses to disasters and an opportunity for strengthen inter-agency and inter-State cooperation in the areas of disaster and conflict management. The GECEAO main objective is to create synergy in terms of preparedness and response to emergency situations and harmonise procedures in order to mitigate the effects of disasters and ensure better disaster management in West Africa. The workshop will also have a capacity building session targeting emergency preparedness and response aimed at improving the response to disasters across the region.
H.E Hamadou Adamou Souley, Niger Minister for interior and decentralization, in the company of colleague, H.E. Laoun Magagi, Minister for Humanitarian Action and Disaster Management chaired the workshop. In his opening remarks, Mr. Soulay appreciated the GECEAO for granting Niger the honor of hosting this event for a second time while calling on participants to take advantage of this very important platform to overview the trends of risk across the region, regional response to disasters and sharing of lessons learnt and best practices to improve disaster management at the national level with better access to strengthening regional emergency response and coordination capacities, relating to disaster management in conflict situations and civil-military coordination.
H.E went further and asked participants to further develop an early warning system that can be used as the pool of successful experiences and good practices; but also to work on the underlying factors or structural causes of the occurrence of disasters in West Africa.
In his welcome Address, Colonel Major Boubacar Bako, Director General Directorate of Civil Protection in Niger, the present Chairman of the GECEAO highlighted the devastating effects and impact of climate change with floods, drought and erosion being high risks disasters in West Africa. He stressed that the expected recommendations must come from deep reflections and excellent conclusions which will lead to finding lasting, effective, and efficient solutions to these dangerous phenomena, continuous strengthening of the capacities of disaster management services in Member States, he added.
Mr. Modibo Traore, the Acting Coordinator of United Nations Coordination of the Humanitarian Affairs in West Africa, reiterated this training was in response to ECOWAS’ request for technical support for consultations to help member states familiarize themselves with existing disaster management tools and come up with recommendations that are expected to strengthen the collective capacities and provide adequate responses to populations at risk of foreseeable natural disasters.
ECOWAS Representation in Niger, Ambassador Guillaume N’Dri Gnamien, after extending his well wishes on behalf of the President of the ECOWAS Commission, His Excellency, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, paid a tribute to all victims of disasters within the West African Region and those who put their lives on the line trying to bring assistance and relief to the disaster victims. He called on the participants to be open-minded and have pure and heartfelt conversations that will so enable them to learn from others experiences for new and innovative ways to effectively mitigate disasters, because disasters can be significantly reduced if we are well informed, guided and motivated to develop a culture of disaster prevention and resilience through better access to knowledge and information. This requires developing and strengthening capacities to transform risk information and knowledge into sound disaster risk reduction judgment and action at all levels.
The workshop ends on Thursday, 11th May, 2023, with the presentation of certificates of participation to all participant. Ghana was elected as the new Chairperson of the GECEAO for a term of two (2) years nonrenewable.