Accra, Jan. 27, 2026 – The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has announced plans to recruit and train volunteers across all districts to strengthen community-level disaster preparedness and response.
Mr Albert Akuka Alalzuuga, Deputy Director-General in charge of Community Empowerment and Sustainable Livelihood at NADMO, said the initiative would begin with the recruitment of 40 volunteers per constituency.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Monday, he explained that districts with more than one constituency would recruit a corresponding number of volunteers.
“For instance, districts with four constituencies would have about 160 volunteers, those with two constituencies 80 volunteers, and districts with one constituency 40 volunteers,” Mr Alalzuuga said.
“They will be trained and equipped with basic emergency response skills, including firefighting, to support disaster response at the local level.”
Mr Alalzuuga said NADMO was placing special emphasis on water rescue, particularly swimming and diving, due to frequent drowning incidents in riverine communities.
“We have expertise in swimming, and we deploy such personnel when there are drowning incidents. However, trained divers are very few; in the entire Upper East Region for instance, we currently have only one diver,” he noted.
Mr Alalzuuga said NADMO would identify interested individuals for diving training and ensure that each district or municipality, especially those close to rivers, had at least one or two trained divers.
Training of the volunteers would commence soon and expected to be completed before the end of the first quarter of the year, he said.
He emphasised that the initiative was not merely a programme but a national movement aimed at rebuilding local resilience and reviving the spirit of volunteerism.
“This movement places NADMO in every home, school and community, empowering citizens to take the lead in disaster preparedness and response.”
The reactivation plan will operate through three key volunteer structures: Community-Based Volunteer Groups, Institutional Volunteer Clubs in schools and religious institutions, and Agency and Civil Society Volunteers.
The initiative is expected to significantly improve rapid disaster response and reduce the loss of lives and property nationwide.
Source: GNA