By Kebba Ansu
Honorable Ebrima Sillah, Minister of Information, Communication and Infrastructure has emphasized that the roles of community radio communicators has significant role in disasters risk prevention in any country.
He vowed that government will continue to support and strengthen the works of the community radio communicators.
He made this statement while officially launching week training for eighteen (18) Community Radio Communicators reporters from radios courtesy of PANOS Institute, UNESCO and National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA).
The one week training workshop centered on early warning systems (EWS) for community radio broadcasters/communicators will be highlighting ‘The use of drones and Early Warning Systems for disaster management before and after floods in The Gambia.’
“The government of The Gambia places high premium on environmental issues and working with Community Radios raises the critical issues to the most important level for people to understand. This is central to government activities as well as community-government relationship in the country,” said Minister Sillah.
He added: “We will continue to support these initiatives, we will continue to strengthen NDMA in doing its jobs and also critically function. In terms of support, we will help them to be able to reach out to the most vulnerable especially during disasters.”
According to him, accessing disaster hit areas are always difficult due to natural phenomenon that needs cautious methods as per advise given by experts, adding that advises given by these experts are usually communicated by the radios.
Honorable Ebrima Sillah went further to affirm the need to strengthen the work of Community Radios and communicators, noting that this will ensure safety and accurate dissemination of information to the public in times of disasters.
“We will continue to work with you we will continue to strengthen the relationship that exist between Gambia government and the Network of Community Radios of The Gambia. This is a critical mass that needs to be supported and encouraged to ensure that the right information is given to the right people,” said Minister Sillah.
Sanna Dahaba, executive director of National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), highlighted that the capacity to anticipate and analyses possible disaster threats is a prerequisite for prudent decision making and effective action, disclosing that practical early warning will not ensure successful preventive actions unless there is a fundamental change of attitude towards disaster perception.
According to him, the most effective methods of mitigating disasters is through the collaboration of government and partners, noting that stakeholders collaboration in mitigating disaster is the most viable, effective and sustainable disaster management strategy.
“It is on the recognition of these facts that NDMA felt the need to work with stakeholders and partners to be able to undertake assessments especially before and during disasters. Thus the project ‘Using Drones and Early Warning Systems for Pre- and Post-Floods Disaster Management in The Gambia, funded by the government of India through the India-UN Development Partnership Fund,” said NDMA Supremo.
The NDMA Executive Director noted that the training is to enhance the capacities of the local structures especially in expanding Disaster Risk Reduction at the grassroots to minimize coordination constraints and enhance greater community participation amongst others. “Community Radio Stations have been successful in being a medium for expression and information,” he noted.
This confab for the training on the management of Early Warning Systems as community radio stations goes to confirm your importance in the achievement of the desired results,” Executive Director, NDMA submitted.
Other speakers at the occasion included Birame Faye, a representative from Panos Institute West Africa, Lamin Jahateh, a representative of UNESCO National Office and Yuspha Bojang, Chairman Network of Community Radios in The Gambia, who all highlighted the importance of the training to participants, while urging them to take it seriously in a bid to changing the dynamics of reporting on disasters in the country.
