NDMA Headquarters, Freetown, May 3rd, 2023 – In a bid to strengthen its disaster risk management and response interventions, the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) through its Directorate of Partnership has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with RE:ACT for a strategic partnership in protecting the vulnerable during a crisis and supporting critical infrastructure and frontline services in Sierra Leone.
Established in 2015, RE:ACT is an emergency and crisis response charity organization based in the United Kingdom (UK) and has intervened in major global emergencies overseas. The organization is renowned for its use of hard-earned skilled and experienced military veterans who are agile and resilient humanitarians that are capable of rapidly deploying when people need immediate and urgent relief in times of disaster.
Whilst expressing his appreciation, the Director General, NDMA, Lt. Gen. (Rtd) Brima Sesay stated that the signing of such a strategic partnership agreement on disaster risk management and response interventions is one of the most effective approaches to addressing the challenges of climatic and environmental disasters that are affecting many people in Sierra Leone. He also pointed out that Sierra Leone continues to suffer from natural and man-made disasters which have significantly impacted its economy, food production, and environmental security.
“We are happy and grateful to sign this partnership agreement with RE:ACT which seeks to enhance our capacity in crisis management and response interventions, leveraging on their international reputation and proven track records. This agreement will also focus on garnering support for the NDMA to ensure the continuous provision of humanitarian relief support to disaster victims and vulnerable groups across Sierra Leone. ” He stated.
The International Operations Manager for RE:ACT, Paul Taolor, while making his statement disclosed that his organization is specialized in deploying highly trained response teams that comprised experienced veterans and other skilled personnel in high-tempo, dynamic and complex global emergencies in several countries including Ukraine and Turkey.
The Operations Manager also stated that RE:ACT provides technical support in risk management, humanitarian interventions, awareness raising, and incident management and strengthens the capacity and resilience of communities to manage local hazards.
“Our humanitarian work in various countries cut across the situational awareness, incident management, capacity building and resilience of communities and enhance supply chain to provide logistical support, improve efficiency and generally solve the challenges in distribution of humanitarian aid to affected populations universally. ” He disclosed.
The National Disaster Management Agency will continue to establish these partnerships and collaborations, both locally and internationally, to enhance its overall capacity in managing and responding to disasters across Sierra Leone.
