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Mali: Regional Committee for Disaster Management in West Africa (GECEAO) 9th Annual Consultation, 8 - 10 June 2015 – Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire [EN/FR]

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Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Country: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo

ABIDJAN, 10 June 2015 - West African and Sahel countries are facing increasingly severe impacts of natural and man-made disasters and need to better anticipate and implement measures that spare communities profound devastation and hardship, underscored the 9th Annual Consultation of the Regional Committee on Disaster Management in West Africa (GECEAO) held in Abidjan on 8 - 10 June 2015.

“In the wake of a disaster, we need to ask ourselves what we can do to prevent it from recurring. What can we do to ensure that a natural phenomenon does not turn into a natural disaster? And what appropriate measures can we undertake to rapidly and efficiently assist victims?” Mr. Boubacar Milougou, the outgoing GECEAO chair, and Director of Burkina Faso’s disaster response capacity said.

This year in West Africa and the Sahel, more than 27 million people are facing food insecurity, among them 4.7 million are in need of immediate food assistance. In addition, around 1.4 million children are severely malnourished in the Sahel. Cholera, meningitis and measles epidemics have also hit a number of countries in the region.

“No country in the region is immune to natural or man-made disasters. If we cannot eliminate these risks, it is crucial that we anticipate, whenever possible, and reduce their devastating impact through preparedness and response,” said Ms. Allegra Baiocchi, the head of OCHA’s Regional Office for West and Central Africa.

“We encourage Member States and partners to continue working assiduously towards building a resilient West African region capable of managing disasters with greater dexterity, reducing the effects of disasters on our population,” stated Mr. Alozie Amaiche, the representative of ECOWAS Commission of Humanitarian Affairs, Gender and Social Affairs.

The regional GECEAO consultation has been organised every year since 2007 with the support of OCHA and the International Federation of the Red Cross under the auspices of the ECOWAS. The Government of Côte d’Ivoire assumes Chairmanship for the next year.

Opening the Consultation, the Cabinet Director representing the Minister of Interior and Security, underscored that disaster risk management is a priority for the Government of Côte d’Ivoire “Protecting people, assets and the environment are prerequisites for a sustainable development”

For further information please contact Seynabou Niang, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs at niang3@un.org.
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