Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma is the fourth president of Sierra Leone. This is an edited and condensed version of an address he gave on May 8, 2013, at an event celebrating the launch of the National Disaster Response Trust Fund at the Miatta Conference Centre in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
We live in a global village, and we are part and parcel of the benefits and challenges inherent in our membership of the global community. A major global challenge today is managing disasters, which are becoming increasingly common. Actions in one part of the globe may cause disasters in another region, and this region may end up being ours. Others may come to our aid, but we must be prepared, we must be proactive, we must be the first line of action in disaster management in our own corner of the village.
Just to use the most recent record of 2011 and 2012, more than 20 souls were lost to flood-related disaster events in Sierra Leone. Cases of fire outbreaks consuming villages and towns have been on the increase, too, and windstorms have been devastating to about 10 towns and villages in the last two months. We need to meet the challenges posed by these incidents head-on, and this means having national and local-level preparedness mechanisms in place. In fact, even at global and regional levels, emphases are being placed on the preventive and mitigation aspects, and that of preparing for response. Rather than having an ad hoc approach to dealing with disasters and related emergencies, we must base our strategies on a more proactive stance.
Ladies and gentlemen, by way of demonstrating my government’s ardent commitment to promoting a safe and secure environment, we are very committed to achieving the five pillars of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015. This framework calls for increasing political commitment and establishment of institutions at all levels; identification, assessment, monitoring of risks to enhance early warning; using knowledge, education, innovation to build a culture of resilience; integrating DRR [Disaster Risk Reduction] into key sectors to reduce the underlying risks factors; and strengthening preparedness for effective response. We will definitely achieve these goals.
In a bid to reinforce the existing early warning systems in the country, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), through the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society and partners, have introduced the Trilogy Emergency Relief Application (TERA) system. This system allows the Red Cross to send SMS directly to people’s phones based on their geographical location, providing early warning information on disease prevention, weather warnings and/or imminent disasters, etc., and guiding them on what to do to save lives.
TERA was first introduced in Haiti during the response to the earthquake that struck in 2010. Let me hasten to inform you all that Sierra Leone is the world’s second nation to host TERA and the first ever in Sub-Saharan Africa. No other disaster warning system is capable of reaching large numbers of people in such a short space of time and in such a direct, personal way. The IFRC will be launching this emergency SMS system in 40 countries over the next five years.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I am particularly proud to be the grand launcher of the National Disaster Relief and Emergency Response Fund. We are providing seed money for this fund, and you will be informed of the account details at the Bank of Sierra Leone.
Launching this seed fund is just one step, but ensuring its sustainability is very important, and, therefore, requires our concerted efforts. Preparing for disasters is always the most appropriate way of managing disasters and related emergencies. Our country is on the move; we must therefore act to sustain and protect our development by supporting disaster preparedness.
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