Last updated on 30/11/2024
Despite an unsatisfactory outcome at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in May, Madagascar is being commended for its early warning system, which is advanced compared to those of other African countries.
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A well-researched system
Madagascar is ahead of the game. Compared to other African countries and islands of the Indian Ocean, the Big Island has taken the lead and has a very powerful and well studied early warning system, as explained by Roberto Schiano Lomoriello, Program Manager of UNDRR in Africa, today, in an exclusive interview to the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR). A system that can serve as a model, as he stressed.
« As far as resilience to natural disasters is concerned, we are already in the middle of it. We have an early warning system that allows us to monitor and predict disasters that may occur, including cyclones, floods, or droughts, »said Major General Elack Olivier Andriakaja, Director General of the National Office of Risk Management and Disaster (BNGRC) and one of the representatives of the Big Island at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR), which began on 23 and ended on May 28 in Bali, Indonesia.
This system is implemented by the BNGRC, the Directorate General of Meteorology and the Ministry of National Education. Authorities and CRM structures in each locality also collaborate with these entities.
DRR in Madagascar
A review of the last seven years since the adoption of the Sendai Framework by the UN countries took place during the GPDRR. Madagascar’s record on disaster risk reduction (DRR) has unfortunately not been very positive.
Efforts remain to be made, particularly in terms of achieving the objectives of the Sendai Framework, awareness-raising, and damage management.
It should be recalled that in terms of risk management itself, for Madagascar, actions have been carried out by the Malagasy State, especially in the last two years, as part of the national strategy and disaster risk management. The Big Island has spent two eventful years since 2020, following the global pandemic of Covid-19, but also the cyclones that have hit the country, as well as kere and floods.
This year alone, the country has recorded 5 cyclones: Ana, Batirai, Dumako, Emnati, Gombe. The final count of the BNGC was 206 dead and 460,150 affected.
However, this success of the early warning system is already a great source of pride. A restitution workshop will reinforce this success, in October 2021, in Antananarivo.
