Liberia-The National Disaster Management Agency has launched Liberia’s Early Warning for All Initiatives as part of efforts geared towards accelerating the fight against climate change.
Climate change is blamed for hordes of natural hazards affecting the world, to which Liberia is particularly vulnerable.
The Initiative is supported by United Nations Office on Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Swedish Government, International Federation of Red Crescent (IFRC) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU.
Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung, through his proxy, Dr. Mcdonald Mefcger launched the initiative Tuesday at the Royal Grand Hotel.
In a statement, he described the systems as pivotal in safeguarding the communities, minimizing loss of life, and enhancing resilience against disasters.
The Vice President commended the global initiatives, saying the launch aims to ensure every person benefits from effective early warning systems by 2027.
According to Vice President Koung, the initiative is being coordinated by UNDRR, WMO, ITU, and IFRC, and aligns with the commitment to building national capabilities across key pillars, including enhancing risk knowledge, strengthening observation and monitoring, improving communication and dissemination, and bolstering preparedness to response.
“It is important to recognize that disasters and climate change affect people differently based on the level of exposure, and different vulnerability drivers, including gender, age, disability, etc. An intersectional approach is required to ensure that early warning services are inclusive, responsive, and equitable”, VP Koung maintained.
For her part, UN Resident Coordinator Christine Umutoni termed the initiative as a great milestone for Liberia, but urged it should include rural dwellers who are vulnerable in society.
Proxying for Madam Umutoni, World Health Organization (WHO) Country Representative, Dr. Clement Peter said the event is aligned with the EW4All initiative, an ambitious call for a global people-centered, end-to-end impact-based Warning For All Initiative (EWS).
With the vulnerability of Liberia to natural hazards, he said disaster risk management is an important subject, one that has an impact on the development trajectory of a country.
“Although important, disaster risk management is a subject that sometimes struggles to stay high on the agenda. It is truly multi-sectoral, touching on the nature and direction of public investment, environmental management, land-use planning, agricultural practices, infrastructure resilience, building code compliance, law enforcement, civic education and early warning systems,” he added.
The WHO Country Representative emphasized that political will, political leadership, governance and coordination are key and central to overcoming natural disaster, adding “they are the heart of the implementation of the EWI.”
According to him, the gathering reflecting Liberia’s commitment to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030) and the implementation of Target G, which aims at increasing the availability and access to early warning systems in the country.
He added that the event also underscores the wide-UNCT commitment to the EW4AIl agenda and our engagement to work with the Government of Liberia and all other partners and donors.
Dr. Peter however called for a unity to reduce the loss of human life, mitigate damage to economic, material, social, cultural and environmental assets, and increase the resilience of communities to disasters.
For his part, National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) Executive Director Ansu V. S. Dulleh said the Initiative is built on a solid partnership structure encapsulated in the several pillars formulated by contributing countries.
According to him, each pillar relies on a network of implementing partners, responsible for implementation and coordination of pillar-specific activities.
The launch of the EWI aimed to secure institutional buy-in towards the achievement of the EW4All Action Plan by 2027, takes stock of the current state of early warning systems in Liberia and promote a shared understanding of progress in implementing the four pillars of EW4All.
The NDMA boss asserted that while governments play crucial roles in driving actions on early warning services for their citizens, adopting a “whole-of-society” approach that involves all stakeholders, including civil society and the private sector, help to better strengthen and sustain early warning services.
“It’s equally important to recognize that disasters and climate change affect people differently based on the level of exposure, and different vulnerability drivers, including gender, age, disability, etc. Therefore, an intersectional approach is required to ensure that early warning services are inclusive, responsive, and equitable,” he added.
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