A three-man delegation made up of members from the Africa Union (AU) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are in Freetown to participate in a two days’ workshop.

The workshop is to discuss with their Sierra Leonean counterparts at Office of National security issues bordering on disaster risk reduction and management.

The workshop which started on Wednesday 27th November, 2019 attracted a host of participants drawn from ONS, the media and other relevant environment and disaster management agencies.

ONS Director of Disaster Management, John V. Rogers delivered a very exciting and interesting power-point presentation exposing disaster risks and how to reduce and manage disasters. He mentioned that as ONS they are complementing the efforts of all stakeholders involved in disaster risk reduction and management, adding that they are recommending that the AU and ECOWAS and other partners support Sierra Leone financially and morally to achieve its goal so that more lives could be saved.

Chairman of the programme Sinneh Mansaray Esq. commended the AU and ECOWAS delegation for coming to Sierra Leone to share their experiences on disaster risk reduction and management and also called on the participants to embrace the new knowledge and put it into practice. He added that the recommendations that were forwarded should be put speedily into practice in order to forestall any future disaster.

The ONS is appreciated by the people of Sierra Leone and hold in very high esteem the Director and Deputy Director Directors of ONS who are very diligent and committed in serving the people of Sierra Leone as they are quick to respond to emergencies. The Red Cross, Fire Force, SLP, RSLAF, Ministry of Social Welfare, EPA, UN representatives and other representatives from relevant agencies were in attendance to share their ideas and experiences and make recommendations on the way forward.

The general call is that the government should give more support to the ONS to enable it to take care of the vulnerable people in disaster prone areas; as the ONS also needs equipment and more manpower to enable them carry out their mandate more effectively.

We are also calling on UN agencies and other non-governmental organizations to support the ONS in any way possible to enable the ONS succeed at its work.