By Mercy Darko.
Ghana has officially opened its National Center for the Coordination of Early Warning Response for ECOWAS member countries. The center is to help warn the government of threats to human security, propose appropriate action and ensure monitoring of the implementation of response to the warning.
Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia said the center has come at an opportune time when the peace and security of the Sub-region is threatened. He pledged government’s support to equip the center with the needed logistics to ensure the effective operation of the system.
The Centre is an outcome of the Strategic Framework for the establishment of national early warning and response mechanisms, adopted by the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government at the 45th Ordinary Session held in Accra, Ghana in 2014.
The objective of the National Coordination Centre for the early warning mechanism is to strengthen the ECOWAS strategy for information sharing among Member States, in order to prevent or minimize threats. The system is intended to provide timely reports and analysis for effective responses that will prevent and mitigate violent conflicts, among others, in the Sub-region.
Ghana sees the establishment of the National Centres as very important.
The Vice President noted that Ghana and the ECOWAS Community will have first-hand information aimed at helping to resolve the numerous conflicts and crises in the sub-region.
Vice President of the ECOWAS Commission, Finda Koroma lauded Ghana’s commitment towards the creation of the center.
A ten-member taskforce was inaugurated last year which spearheaded the establishment of the center. The Chairman of the Task Force is Joe Amoako Tuffour.
Work at the National Center for the Coordination of Early Warning Response for ECOWAS member countries would cover five thematic areas. These are Crime and Criminality, Governance and Human Rights, Health and Pandemics, Social, Economic and Environment and Security, Terrorism and Maritime.
