NDMA Trains Journalists On Disaster Reporting

The Daily Observer (Banjul)

Alieu Ceesay

28 June 2011

The National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), in line with the requirement of the Disaster Management Act and lessons learnt during the 2010 rainy season relating to media coverage on disaster issues, last Friday organised a one-day consultative forum and training on coordinated disaster coverage and reporting for journalists across the country, drawn from both electronic and print media.

The training, which was held at the National Nutrition Agency Hall along the Bertil Herding Highway, has come just at the dusk of the rainy season. It is expected to go a long way in widening the knowledge of the media practitioners on disaster reporting; thus helping them to give a good coverage of disaster issues and to keep themselves abreast with the NDMA Act 2008.

Addressing the journalists at the official opening ceremony, Serign Modou Joof, the West Coast Region’s disaster management coordinator, hailed the NDMA for organising the training for the media practitioners. According to him, the training will go a long way in broadening the knowledge of the participants on disaster issues. He therefore urged the participants to apply the knowledge gained from the training when reporting on disaster issues; and commended the media for their continuous partnership with the NDMA.

For his part, Karabulie Konteh, a journalist at the GRTS radio, who doubles as the president of the Network for Disaster Journalists, commended the NDMA for organising such training. He called on his cplleagues to give accurate information to the public by verifying their stories from the right source. According to him, the media play a very critical role when it comes to disaster; thus the need to pass the right information.

Speaking on behalf of the director general of GRTS, Aja Amie Ceesay of GRTS TV recognized the critical role of the media when disaster strikes, while assuring of GRTS’ continuous support and readiness to give coverage on disaster issues. She also joined the previous speakers in calling for the need to give timely and relevant reports on disaster thanked the NDMA for organising the training.

Officially opening the training, Ensa Khan, the executive director of NDMA explained disaster to mean when there is loss of life, property, and environment and the people do not have the capacity to cope. On the other hand, vulnerability, he defined, is the inability to cope with a given situation. According to him, the NDMA had conducted similar consultative forums with stakeholders in the past. He said the media is very critical and important in terms of sensitising the communities on disaster related issues, particularly the need for them to lead the Disaster Risk Reduction Agenda, saying the NDMA is not a relief agency but a coordinating agency.

He therefore urged the participants to give standard reporting and avoid unverified stories. He however commended the media for their collaboration with his office. Delivering the vote of thanks, Bakary Fatty of GRTS Radio, thanked the NDMA for the training, and urged the participants to make best use of the knowledge gained.

AllAfrica – All the Time