Listening to the Voices of the People: Community ’s Assessment of Disaster Responder Agency Performance During Disaster Situations in Rural Northern Ghana

Conclusion This study used a combined qualitative methodological approach of focus group discussions and the community score card in four communities in Northern Ghana to evaluate the performance of the main disaster responder agency. All four communities identified NADMO as the main responder agency during the last disasters with community members identifying education/awareness, selection process of beneficiaries, networking/collaboration, timing of response, quantity of relief items, appropriateness of relief items, mode of distribution of relief items, investigation and overall performance as the main evaluative indicators. Although the indicators were rated differently by each community; the timing of response, quantity and appropriateness of relief items were generally poor whereas the overall performance of the responder agency was generally satisfactory. Since these communities are often prone and vulnerable to the perennial floods, we recommend that the main responder agency responds more timely and fast whiles engaging the other stake holders in disaster management to ensure that communities get enough of the most appropriate relief items. We also encourage that after each disaster, all the stake holders in disaster management great that platform were the disaster responder agency will be evaluated by the affected communities as a feedback to improve on future disaster management Competing Interests The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Fi...
Source: PLOS Currents Disasters - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Source Type: research