By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Bolgatanga, Sept.2, GNA – Stakeholders at a forum in Bolgatanga have raised concerns over increasing localised conflicts and activities of violent extremism/ terrorism within the West African Sub-region, calling for a comprehensive regional response to it.
They said the situation, coupled with disasters, climate change and human rights abuses, was deepening the emergency and humanitarian crisis in the sub-region, causing internal displacement and increasing the number of refugees.
They, therefore, called for concerted efforts and comprehensive regional and national frameworks that would not only respond and provide sustainable relief to people in emergencies but also help to strengthen resilience and coordination, which focused on prevention.
The stakeholders included the Most Reverend Alfred Agyenta, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Navrongo-Bolgatanga, Dr Hafiz Bin-Salih, the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Timothy Akanpabadai, Head of Office, Catholic Relief Service (CRS), and Dr Joseph Ayembila, Executive Director, Navrongo-Bolgatanga Catholic Diocesan Development Organisation (NABOCADO).
They made the call at the opening of a three-day exchange learning for partner organisations on emergency response and management of internally displaced persons in West Africa, organised by the CRS.
On the theme: “Building resilient organisations for emergency response”, the exchange learning was part of the Empowering Partner Organisations Working on Emergency Responses (EMPOWER) project.
It brought together NABOCADO, a faith-based organisation in Ghana, and its partners working on emergency responses and management in Ivory Coast, Senegal, Guinea, Liberia and The Gambia.
Dr Bin-Salih explained that globally, the refugee crisis had reached unprecedented levels due to conflicts in various regions on the continent, with the West African sub-region being plunged into insecurity by terrorists and violent extremists.
“This has been compounded by political instability, climate change and human rights violations; which in recent times have created massive destructions and displaced communities and persons as unfortunately witnessed in the Sahel”, he said.
Due to the complexities of the humanitarian crisis, it required urgent international cooperation and solidarity that involved the sharing of information, expertise and resources that would help to collectively manage and respond to the emergencies, Dr Bin-Salih noted.
The Most Rev. Agyenta said apart from climate change, the Upper East Region was considered a conflict-prone zone as a result of some internal conflicts and the threats from violent extremists in the Sahel required urgent and collaborative efforts to prevent any spillover.
He said though Ghana had not been attacked externally, the crisis in the Sahel had caused the influx of about 8000 asylum seekers into the region and it was time for major stakeholders to work together to address the issues.
“We need to begin to think about how to stop the cause of the emergencies before we even start to think about how to respond”, he said.
Dr Ayembila, the Head of the Office of the CRS, said the EMPOWER project hinged on the strengthening of institutional capacity to deliver on their mandate and build institutions and human resources to respond to emergencies appropriately.
He said the exchange learning programme was one such avenue to enable the organisations working in emergency response and management to learn, network and share experiences to enhance their work.
He explained that the cross-border learning visit was significant to building synergies, strategising, and mobilising resources to respond appropriately to the humanitarian crisis that the sub-region was currently battling.
GNA