Central River and Upper River Regions recently convened a two-day capacity building training on disaster management.

The workshop which was organised and sponsored by UNDP in conjunction with National Disaster Management Committee under the office of the Vice-President was aimed at enlightening the regional disaster management committees of the area on the importance of quick response to disasters.

In his lengthy speech, the governor of the Central River Region, Alhaji Ambulaye Janneh, said that the importance of the workshop cannot be over emphasised and that the advent of various forms of disasters and their negative impacts pose a gradual setback to development goals and aspirations of the developing countries.

The governor, opined that the countries facing natural hazards most are caused by human practices. “At no time in human history have people lived in cities clustered around disaster prone areas as we have today. Poor land used planning, environmental mismanagement and lack of effective regulatory mechanism have contributed immensely towards increasing the risks and vulnerabilities of nations and communities to disaster”, he stated.

The UNDP National Disaster Co-ordinator, Mr Essa Khan said the training programme which is an offspring of the disaster project also aims at restructuring and strengthening all disaster structures and offer the basic skills needed to handle disaster issues professionally. Mr Khan further asserted that while the humanitarian response capacities are being acknowledged as vital components, disaster management needs continued attention. “The focus on addressing risk underlines the recognition that human interventions designed to reduce the vulnerability of communities and assets can reduce the impact of disasters”, he noted.