Ghana has adopted a five-year disaster management and risk finance strategy framework and implementation plan to shift from reactive disaster response to proactive risk management and climate resilience.
The framework, approved in December 2025 and set to run until 2030, aims to address the estimated US$200 million Ghana loses annually to disasters such as floods, droughts and fires, which affect more than two million people each year.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ghana’s development partner, formally presented the framework to the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) in Accra on Wednesday, to support its implementation.
The strategy is built around eight key pillars, including the comprehensive identification, quantification and mapping of disaster-related fiscal risks; the integration of disaster risk analysis into national planning and budgeting; and the establishment of sovereign and sub-sovereign disaster risk financing instruments.
The other pillars focus on developing private risk transfer solutions, strengthening institutional coordination and capacity, improving legal and regulatory frameworks, enhancing industry and community resilience, and adopting a layered approach to disaster risk management.
The initiative is designed to reduce Ghana’s fiscal vulnerability to disasters, protect lives and livelihoods, and attract private sector investment through pre-arranged financial instruments to improve national resilience against future shocks.
Priority disasters under the framework include floods, droughts and fires, with emphasis on ensuring timely, predictable and cost-effective access to financial resources for emergency response and recovery.
Dr Abdul-Razak Saeed, Head of Environment and Climate at UNDP Ghana, said the strategy was a practical roadmap aimed at transforming disaster risk management in the country.
“This is not just a document but a guide for action to move Ghana from reactive to proactive disaster risk management,” he said.
Dr Saeed noted that effective disaster planning required strategic budget reallocation and innovative financing approaches, adding that the framework would help identify financial assets and mechanisms for efficient deployment.
He called for innovative funding options, including crowd financing, and encouraged the media to support efforts to attract private sector participation in Ghana’s disaster and climate initiatives.
Dr Saeed reaffirmed UNDP’s commitment to supporting the operationalisation of the framework, stressing that its success would depend on strong leadership, sustained investment and broad stakeholder engagement.
The Director-General of NADMO, Major Dr Joseph Bikanyi Kuyon (Rtd), said the framework positioned Ghana for a major shift in disaster risk financing, enabling more timely interventions and improved climate response.
He said the strategy would address long-standing challenges arising from the absence of a dedicated disaster risk financing mechanism and strengthen Ghana’s capacity for emergency response, climate adaptation and mitigation.
Major Kuyon (Rtd) emphasised that proactive investment in disaster risk management was more cost-effective than post-disaster recovery.
“It is far cheaper to invest in disaster risk management than to wait for disasters to occur and then attempt recovery,” he said.
He expressed gratitude to UNDP for its technical and financial support through its insurance and risk financing facility and assured of NADMO’s commitment to working with partners to fully implement the framework for improved disaster management and climate resilience.
