The Director of Finance of the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), Morie Bassie Karteh, is representing the Agency at a two-day Disaster Risk Financing Roundtable in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, aimed at strengthening financial systems for disaster preparedness, response and recovery.
Karteh, who also serves as NDMA’s Disaster Risk Financing Focal Point, is attending alongside Joseph Fatorma, Senior Director at the Fiscal Risk Division of the Ministry of Finance. The roundtable, themed “Leading on Risk: Building a Disaster Risk Financing System Fit for Purpose,” is co-convened by the African Union Commission, the UK Government and the Centre for Disaster Protection.
During the discussions, Karteh emphasised the need to shift from reactive disaster response to anticipatory action, calling for a well-capitalised Contingency Fund linked to shock-responsive mechanisms to ensure timely assistance to vulnerable communities affected by floods, fires, landslides and other emergencies.
Fatorma highlighted the fiscal pressures caused by unplanned disaster expenditure and outlined Sierra Leone’s ongoing efforts to develop a Disaster Risk Financing Strategy. The proposed strategy includes contingency budget provisions, pre-arranged cash transfers and sovereign risk transfer mechanisms.
The roundtable brings together African countries and international partners to exchange experiences and explore sustainable financing approaches, improve institutional coordination and strengthen government-led disaster response systems. Sierra Leone’s participation is expected to help identify practical financing mechanisms that improve national preparedness, ensure more predictable emergency funding and reduce the humanitarian and economic impact of disasters.
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