Tamale, June 8, GNA - Alhaji Abdulai Mahama Silimboma, Northern Regional Coordinator for the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) has said his outfit has run out of relief items. It can, therefore, not support victims of any emergency disaster situation unless their stocks are replenished.

He said all the consignment meant for the region for the year had been disbursed to the internally displaced people in the Bunkprugu/Yunyoo District following the recent conflicts in that area. "The region currently has no stocks to handle any disaster cases in the region if the need arises.

Alhaji Silimboma, who was addressing a Disaster Preparedness forum in Tamale, on Tuesday, appealed to the government and development partners to assist the Northern Regional outfit of NADMO with relief items to be able to assist people in the event of a disaster. The Emergency Preparedness Planning forum was organized by NADMO with the support of the Office of the United Nations for Coordination and Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

It brought together DCEs, regional and district NADMO officers and other institutions to brainstorm on dealing with disasters that might occur within the year.

Alhaji Silimboma indicated that the Zabzugu/Tatale, East and West Mamprusi, Gushiegu, Central Gonja and Nanumba districts had been affected by disasters but the absence of relief items had made NADMO unable to give any assistance to the disaster victims.

He also said one of the most unfortunate disaster issues was the situation of Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo, which was being tackled effectively, adding that the media blew the situation out of proportion. Mr. Sam Nasamu Asibigi, the Deputy Northern Regional Minister, said emergency preparedness was very critical in the nation building efforts and urged the various institutions dealing with disasters to be well prepared towards the rainy season.

He said disaster preparedness should be a continuous and integrated process resulting from a wide range of activities and resources, requiring contributions from various organizations for institutional development, training and logistical assistance. Mr. Asibigi urged NADMO to respond effectively to emergency situations by adopting regular testing of its warning systems and also educating and training personnel and the public on disasters. Mr. Alex Bokuma, National Humanitarian Affairs Officer of OCHA, called for effective collaboration between institutions and NGOs to be able to effectively deal with disasters, saying that OCHA was a fund raising arm of the UN that could mobilize resources for disaster victims on cases of larger dimension and upon request from the nation for assistance. He said OCHAs' support to disasters had mostly been in the form of logistics, technical and financial assistance to support disaster victims. 08 June 10