Cape coast: The Central Region Office of the National Management Organisation (NADMO) has inaugurated a Regional Disaster Management Committee to help reduce disaster risks, ensure community resilience, and enhance disaster management efforts. The 18-member committee, chaired by the Central Regional Minister, Mr. Ekow Panyin Okyere Eduamoah, was instituted in line with Ghana's legal and institutional framework for disaster risk management, reduction, and mitigation.
According to Ghana News Agency, the move is a step towards proactive, coordinated, and community-centered disaster management in the Region. It is also aimed at managing disasters by coordinating resources, promoting disaster risk reduction activities, and enhancing community-based response mechanisms to reduce disasters. The event coincided with the launch of a 24-member committee to spearhead disaster risk reduction and climate change management platform.
The event, witnessed by high-profile personalities, was not just a ceremonial occasion but a signal of shared commitment to safeguarding lives and livelihoods. It also encouraged people to eschew acts that trigger preventable disasters. Mr. Emmanuel Kwesi Dawood, the Central Regional Director of NADMO, in his remarks, explained the urgent need for the committee to mitigate risks given the current situation in the Region.
He mentioned that the Region, with its diverse topography and rich coastal and riverine ecosystem, faces threats of natural and human-induced disasters that need urgent attention and measures for reduction. He recalled recent incidents such as the collapse of buildings and increased fire outbreaks in some communities as reasons for swift interventions. About 18 of the 22 Metropolitan Municipal, District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Region have recorded different disasters with casualties, including loss of lives and property.
Mr. Dawood emphasized that these incidents are warnings of looming threats and reminded stakeholders that disaster management must be strategic, inclusive, and well-coordinated. He pointed out that the Committee's mission goes beyond policy documents to practical impact across the 22 MMDAs. He urged them to become a platform for trust, data-sharing, training, simulation, and action embedded with disaster risk reduction in every sector from communities and workplaces to education, health, and infrastructure.
The Committee was tasked to ensure equity, transparency, and accountability to reach the most vulnerable in the communities. For his part, Mr. Eduamoah Ekow Panyin Okyere called on all relevant stakeholders to collaborate to make the Region safe, resilient, and prepared for the future. Members of the Committee include Mr. Dawood, Daasebre Kweebu Ewusi VII, Paramount Chief of Abeadze State, and Mr. Bless Darkey, Acting Regional Coordinating Director. Other members are Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO) Mary Attigah Mensah, Regional Commander of GNFS, and representatives from the Ghana Health Service, Social Welfare, Information Services Department, and others.
