Govt moves to set up emergency response unit

Ghana’s minister of defence, Addo Kufuor, has inaugurated a special committee to work out modalities for setting up a national emergency response unit, ‘Accra Mail’ newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing an official statement. The committee headed by Deputy Minister of Defence Edward Martey Akita is charged with identifying resources, including personnel and equipment, required to set up the unit. The unit will manage disasters around the country and will comprise doctors, nurses, paramedics, army paratroopers, firefighters and divers. This will enable the unit respond effectively to road, rail and aviation emergencies as well as disasters such as oil spills, floods, earthquakes or even communal conflicts, the report said. The committee will work with other emergency response bodies, such as the St John’s Ambulance Brigade, to draw up a training programme for required personnel, including a cadet corps to be established in secondary schools around the country.