The United States and KAIPTC Partner to Build Disaster Management Capabilities across the Region

PRESS RELEASE

The United States and KAIPTC Partner to Build Disaster Management Capabilities across the Region

Accra, GHANA— On November 9, U.S. Ambassador to Ghana Stephanie S. Sullivan officially presented a skills-based Disaster Management Curriculum to Major General Francis Ofori, Commandant of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC). Also present at the occasion were the Deputy Commandant, Air Commodore George Kweku Arko Dadzie, and some members of KAIPTC’s Executive Management Committee.

During her remarks, Ambassador Sullivan noted that the “collaboration among the U.S. Embassy, USAFRICOM, the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, and the Governments of Ghana, Togo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Senegal is a testament to the extensive network of productive U.S. partnerships throughout West Africa.”

The curriculum was produced by United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM) in partnership with KAIPTC and consists of twelve disaster management courses (six in English and six in French) that build and support national capacity and professionalization of disaster managers across civilian, military, private and nonprofit sectors to deepen their knowledge and skills in emergency/disaster responses, actions, and strategies. It also includes a train-the-trainer course in English and in French to support KAIPTC in the delivery of the curriculum. The curriculum will be fully owned, managed, and delivered by KAIPTC to directly enhance West African partner nation capabilities.

The curriculum has already generated positive outcomes across the region as a result of the pilot courses delivered to 250 select representatives from Ghana, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo during the development of the curriculum. Notable outcomes include the enhanced ability to develop training exercises, the creation of disaster management communication plans, and the development of crisis response plans using skills learned during the courses.

The Commandant of KAIPTC Major General Francis Ofori said; “The addition of the DMP to our training portfolio is a great milestone because it furthers our vision to be the preferred international Center that provides relevant training to make Africa peaceful and secure. We are very grateful to USAFRICOM for their investment and technical guidance/advice to develop and sustain the program.”

USAFRICOM provided funding of over $3 million to develop the curriculum, including reviews by West African disaster management professionals, a pilot of each course in English and in French and technical assistance to ensure the program’s sustainability.

For further information, please contact the Corporate Affairs Unit of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) on +233 302 718200 ext 1104/1203. You can find the KAIPTC on Facebook and Youtube as: @Kaiptcgh and on instagram @Kaiptc. You can further find out more about the KAIPTC on our website: www.kaiptc.org.

About the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre:

The Ghana Ministry of Defence (MoD) established the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in 1998 and commissioned it in 2004. The purpose was to build upon and share Ghana’s five decades of internationally acclaimed experience and competence in peace operations with other states in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region and the rest of Africa. This was in recognition of the need for training military, police and civilian men and women to meet the changing demands of multidimensional peace operations. The Centre is one of the three (3) Peacekeeping Training Centres of Excellence mandated by the ECOWAS to offer training in peacekeeping and peace support operations (PSO) in Africa.

The Centre delivers training courses in three thematic areas; Peace Support Operations, Conflict Management and Peace and Security Studies and also runs Masters and PhD programmes in same. The KAIPTC has a world-class research department that undertakes research in the thematic areas in Peace and Security. Located in Accra, Ghana, the KAIPTC is an internationally recognised institution and has to date trained and tutored over 21, 496 participants and students since its inception.
KAIPTC is a gender-sensitive organisation and committed to gender equality. Following the launch of its gender policy in 2014, the Centre has mainstreamed gender into its policies and programmes, and integrates same in its focal areas, namely training, research and postgraduate education. The Centre has developed a Sexual Harassment policy and fully oriented employees on same. It has also provided a Nursing and Childcare Centre and instituted a paternity leave policy, all with the aim to create a conducive work environment at KAIPTC.