Talk on disaster preventive measures by UN rep at Unity Palace

Margareta Wahlström, special representative of the UN Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction, was welcomed by the Minister Secretary General of the Presidency of Cameroon, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, on behalf of the head of state.

The reason for the visit was for the Seventh Session of the African Working Group expanded for reducing disaster risk and high-level segment which ended yesterday in Yaoundé.

Margareta Wahlström extended her gratitude to the President through Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh for hosting the international meeting in the country. It was also an opportunity to report to the head of state, the essence of trade.

Among the achievements of the Yaoundé Conference, Margareta Wahlström reemphasized on the adoption of a plan for disaster prevention by a score of African Ministers responsible for civil protection.

"The major plan for prevention would be through the raising of awareness and educating the youth. When we speak of disaster, we often think of major disasters," noted Margareta Wahlström.

In her view, “the most costly disasters are the recurring ones also known as medium-range disasters. They are floods, bush fires and destruction of plantations which results in victims losing most of their assets. It is therefore advisable to take precarious measures to prevent them,” she said.

The representative of the UN Secretary General also used the meeting to send her condolences to the president and the bereaved families on the attacks at the Far North region.
She was accompanied to the Unity Palace by Najat Rocdi, resident representative of the UN in Cameroon.