The ECOWAS Commission is participating in the West African Disaster Preparedness Training Programme which opens in Accra, Ghana on Monday, November 9, 2015.

The training programme, part of a series under the aegis of the West Africa Disaster Preparedness Initiative (WADPI), is in collaboration with the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center (KAIPTC) and the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO).

The regional training will assist ECOWAS Member States and Partner-Nations to incorporate lessons learned from the Ebola crises in West Africa into disaster preparedness and response mechanism.

A statement issued by the Commission on Friday said the first set of training would start on November 9 to November 20, 2015, and this is specifically designed for ECOWAS staff, mostly Information & Technology Personnel that would be assigned to assist ECOWAS in the establishment of a Regional Emergency Operation Center for disaster management.

The second set of training, designed for ECOWAS staff drawn from various Departments of the Commission, will be held from November 16 to November 20, 2015, also in Accra.

The main objective of this training is to enable ECOWAS to integrate the proposed Regional Disaster Emergency Operation Center platform with that of WADPI trained countries, thus producing a seamless interactive network with these countries. This is to ensure continued regional communication, collaboration and coordination between Member States in disaster preparedness and response.

The Training efforts have focused on building the capacity of officials responsible for disaster preparedness and management regarding the lessons learned from the current Ebola crisis and established a foundation for a national-level, systems-based approach to preparedness.

As appropriate to each country, the trainings have been in the areas that include the review and validation of National Disaster Preparedness and Response Plans, the review and validation of National Emergency Operations Center (NEOCs) Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as well as Focused IT training for EOC Management.

The rest are the Ebola Awareness and Basic First Responder Training, emergency Operation Centre Management and Incident Command Structure, Logistics, Security, and Communication during Disaster Response as well as the Development and Design of Table Top Exercise and Team Building.

The ECOWAS Commission has been engaged for the programme to have overall responsibility of managing the training courses and also coordinate the participation of Member States National Disaster Management Agencies and other relevant Government ministries that are participating in the trainings.

The course will primarily focus on awareness training, related to Emergency Operation Center (EOC), National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) IT Software Platforms, NEOC Integrated One -Health Surveillance and Early Warning Scenarios.

By the October 27, 2015, WADPI had successfully trained 9 countries, which include Ghana, Benin, Togo, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Nigeria and Guinea Bissau. With Mali completing its training on October 30, 2015, Cameroon and The Gambia would conclude theirs on November 13, 2015.

The WADPI programme is being supported by the United States Africa Command (USFARICOM).