Public education on mitigation of disasters intensified

Samuel K. Obour Aug - 26 - 2013 , 22:46

Government has intensified its effort to sensitise Ghanaians to preventive measures to mitigate the occurrence of disasters in the communities, the Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Alfred Sugri Tia, has said.

He also said as part of the measures, people were being educated on the effects of building on water courses and along earthquake-prone zones, and the need to desist from such moves.

Dr Sugri Tia said this at the passing-out ceremony of Emergency Medical Technicians Basic Batch Six at the Fire Academy and Training School in Accra yesterday.

“The recent tragedies in the country, mostly caused by natural and man-made disasters, have served to drive home the extreme urgency of making our cities and towns less vulnerable and more resilient to such calamities,” he added.

Dr Sugri Tia said it was in the light of these that the National Ambulance Service had been supported to build its capacity to provide effective and comprehensive pre-hospital emergency care for the citizenry.

In addition, he said, the government had procured a substantial amount of ambulances for the service to improve the emergency medical services system, which is a crucial component of preparedness and resilience in the event of disaster.

The ceremony saw 238 Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) graduating after they had gone through a year-long training in various topics such as pharmacology, ambulance operation, gaining access and communication.

The new batch will add to the 451 EMTs nationwide that could be relied upon to respond to medical emergencies in the country with a high degree of capability and efficiency.