Gambia to observe International Day for Disaster

The Gambia, under the auspices of the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), today joins the rest of the world to celebrate the International Day of Disaster Reduction.

The day has been set aside by the international community to be celebrated each year with a view to drawing people?s attention to the need of reducing the impacts of disaster occurrence around the world. 

According to a media release issued by the NDMA, the theme for this year's celebration is, "Making cities resilient; my city getting ready". It aims at getting local governments and national authorities to take action towards making cities resilient to disasters as part of creating sustainable urban communities.

Programmes marking the day in The Gambia include a march-past, from Super Bar junction to KMC grounds, with banners by students, voluntary organizations, disaster affected communities, multi-disciplinary facilitation teams (MDFT), the police band, women groups, NDMA staff, Gambia Red Cross Society, and Scout Volunteers.

"The gathering at the KMC grounds to be chaired by the Permanent Secretary, Office of the Vice President, will be characterised by speeches to be delivered by the UN Representative in The Gambia, the Mayor of KMC, the Director of Tango and the Executive Director of the NDMA," the release added.

There will also be a drama episode by youth groups to entertain the gathering.

It would be recalled that in its resolution 44/236 of 22 December 1989, the UN General Assembly designated the second Wednesday of October as International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction.

The Day was to be observed annually during the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction - 1990-1999.

In 2001, the General Assembly decided to maintain the observance of the Day on the second Wednesday of October each year under resolution 56/195 of 21 December, as a vehicle to promoting a global culture of natural disaster reduction, including disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness.