The National Disaster Management Agency Executive Director, Henry O. Williams, has appealed to the government to give more attention to the funding needs of the agency to empower it and make it more visible in implementing its mandate through prompt response to the most vulnerable during and after hazards.
Speaking at the Ministry of Information regular press briefing on Thursday, October 20, 2022, Williams said the prepositioning of humanitarian supplies and decentralizing the activities of the agency by recruiting regional coordinators provide mobility through the purchase of transport equipment, and the most significant one, in accordance with the act creating the agency, is to operationalize the trust fund account opened at the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL).
According to him, the agency is challenged, and if they cannot get the adequate financial support it will be difficult to solve these problems.
He emphasized creating more awareness to mitigate citizen actions that increase flood risks, coastal erosion, fire and other hazards.
Henry O. Williams said the community approach and the anticipation action are very crucial in disaster management because disaster risk is a crosscutting issue. He said disaster puts development at risk, and development choices can likewise generate new disaster risks if not properly anticipated and dealt with.
He disclosed that disaster reduction is a developmental challenge that should be addressed through development interventions that help prevent and reduce disaster risk and enforce building codes and zoning laws to stop people from building in waterways and on wetlands.