The Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA, has donated 3,080 blankets to the National Disaster Management Organization, NADMO as Emergency Relief Goods, for the purpose of humanitarian assistance for future disasters.
The donation forms part of existing support rendered by JICA to the organization over the years.
Speaking at the donation ceremony, the Chief Representative of JICA Ghana, Mr. Araki Yasumichi said JICA has been cooperating with Ghana for the past 58 years through several modalities, including Japanese Yen Loan, Grant Aid, Technical Cooperation and volunteer programme.
Currently, JICA is supporting the Government of Ghana in four priority areas namely; Quality Infrastructure for Economic Growth, Industrial and Agricultural Development, Universal Health Coverage and Capacity Development for Effective Public Service.
He added: “JICA provides training and scholarship opportunities in Japan for Ghanaians with the purpose of promoting human resource development, which serves as a bridge between Ghana and Japan. Over the years, more than 4,700 government officials including staff of NADMO have benefited from training in Japan or third-country training. Over the years, JICA has supported NADMO where necessary to coordinate the management of disaster and other emergencies in Ghana.”
He concluded: “We hope that this donation would boost NADMo’s efforts in the delivery of its mandate and help alleviate the plight of disaster-affected persons in Ghana.”
The Director-General of NADMO, Eric Nana Agyemang-Prempeh received the blankets and recalled the assistance of the Government of Japan through JICA over the years.
He applauded the commitment of the people of Japan in extending its humanitarian assistance to Ghana.
He thanked JICA for enhancing and upgrading the capacity of staff of NADMO in the area of training in Japan.
He promised that the organization would put the blankets to good use as they came at an appropriate time.
Globally, JICA implements its mandate of emergency relief to several countries across the world.
Japan, being a disaster-prone country (to natural occurrences such as earthquakes, tsunami, landslides, etc), is always eager to contribute immensely to global disaster prevention and relief efforts.