Public Well being Emergencies are more and more turning into advanced and frequent and sophisticated, usually pushed by a convergence of things together with illness outbreaks, climate-related occasions, technological hazards, and environmental degradation. In such a panorama, efficient emergency response is determined by coordinated, multi-sectoral efforts grounded in correct, real-time data.
Due to a joint initiative by the World Well being Group (WHO) and the Nationwide Catastrophe Administration Group (NADMO), over 150 multi-sectoral personnel from 9 districts within the Volta, Japanese and Higher Accra Areas have been skilled in the usage of the Multi-sectoral Preliminary Speedy Evaluation (MIRA) instrument—a globally acknowledged framework for conducting joint assessments throughout the first 72 hours of an emergency.
Talking on the coaching, Dr. Guracha Guyo, Emergency Preparedness and Response Workforce Lead at WHO Nation Workplace, indicated that some emergencies and disasters could also be inevitable, however degree of preparedness might mitigate results.
“Whereas some emergencies are unavoidable, our degree of preparedness can considerably scale back their impression. This coaching builds on WHO’s earlier collaboration with NADMO to develop flood contingency plans, and it marks an essential step towards strengthening district-level readiness throughout the areas”, he mentioned.
The coaching represents an important shift from reactive to proactive emergency administration. Contributors—from Ghana Well being Service, NADMO, District Assemblies, and different key companies—had been skilled to gather, analyse, and share important knowledge in a coordinated method throughout six key sectors: Well being/Diet, Safety/Safety, Shelter and Non-Meals Objects, WASH, Meals Safety, and Training. This ensures that decision-makers at nationwide and sub-national ranges obtain harmonized, sector-wide insights to tell focused, life-saving interventions.
Director of Illness Epidemics at NADMO, Ruth Arthur defined the significance of this coaching. She mentioned, “Well timed and correct data is the muse of any efficient catastrophe response. The MIRA instrument equips our groups to quickly accumulate and coordinate crucial knowledge, guaranteeing that each group—regardless of how distant—is accounted for and supported throughout emergencies.”
Previous to this intervention, emergency responses in lots of districts had been usually fragmented, with totally different departments conducting their very own assessments and reporting conflicting knowledge. The MIRA instrument addresses this crucial hole by enabling unified assessments that velocity up aid efforts and scale back duplication of effort. By means of scenario-based workouts, contributors discovered methods to prioritize wants shortly, guaranteeing that assist reaches probably the most affected communities within the shortest potential time.
Tailored from the Inter-Company Standing Committee (IASC) the MIRA instrument has been efficiently used globally in battle zones and disaster-prone areas. Its introduction in Ghana alerts a serious improve within the nation’s emergency response toolkit—one which places knowledge, velocity, and collaboration on the heart of motion.
For frontline responders, the coaching was greater than skilled growth, it was private. A number of contributors recalled cases the place delayed assessments led to crucial gaps in response.
“It has been over 2 years because the latest flooding within the district, but it has been tough getting harmonized knowledge from the sectors. If we had MIRA then, issues would have been totally different. This coaching on MIRA instrument will resolve this problem going ahead. The following time catastrophe hits, we’ll know precisely what to do, collectively” says Mr. Emmanuel Laryea Tetteh, North Tongu District Coordinating Director.
The long-term impression of this initiative can also be being deliberate. NADMO has dedicated to institutionalizing the MIRA instrument into its commonplace coaching curriculum, whereas plans are underway to scale the method to regional and district ranges nationwide. This can guarantee sustained capacity-building and institutional reminiscence in emergency preparedness, not only for present emergencies however for these but to return.
By constructing a skilled cohort of multi-sectoral professionals prepared to reply collectively, Ghana is taking a daring step towards a extra resilient and responsive catastrophe administration system. In a world the place emergencies can strike with out warning, this sort of preparation doesn’t simply save time—it saves lives.
For Further Info or to Request Interviews, Please contact:
Abdul-Lahie Abdul-Rahim Naa
Communications Officer
WHO Ghana Nation Workplace
E-mail: abdullahiea [at] who.int (abdullahiea[at]who[dot]int)
Tel: +233 20 196 2393