Nigeria, Liberia to collaborate on disaster preparedness

Government officials from Nigeria and Liberia recently agreed to collaborate on disaster preparedness in the face of health crises, such as Ebola.

The agreement was set in August at the seventh West Africa Disaster Preparedness Initiative course, which took place at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra, Ghana.

“Ebola exposed the shortcomings of our disaster and response system," The Minister of Internal Affairs and Head of the Liberian Delegation Morris Dukuly Sr. said. "We were never prepared for a disaster with this magnitude."

Training will be provided by the West Africa Disaster Preparedness Initiative (WADPI).

 “We are grateful for the opportunity given to us in this training supported by AFRICOM," Sani Sidi, the project director for the National Emergency Management Agency for Nigeria, said,

WADPI training includes lessons on how to problem solve in various disaster preparedness scenarios, and also works to enhance national capacities in response and management in 17 African partner nations.