The Central Medical Store Fire Disaster: A Test for Institutional Compliance in Disaster Prevention in Ghana:

SAGE Open

Ebenezer Owusu-Sekyere¹ 

关键词: Central Medical Store;    disasters;    Ghana;    institutional compliance;    risk prevention;   

DOI  :  10.1177/2158244017699528

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Sage Journals

【 摘 要 】

Although Ghana has developed institutional frameworks and has enacted legislations which among other things seek to guarantee the cooperation and coordination of key stakeholders in disaster prevention, compliance is still a mirage. This has resulted in increased susceptibility of national assets to preventable disasters. This article discusses what might have caused the inferno that razed down one of West Africa’s largest medical storage facilities—the Central Medical Store (CMS). The disaster did not only manifest in property lost, basic medical supplies to neighboring countries were also severely interrupted. By exploring the responses of key stakeholders, the emerging evidence indicates that preventive measures that could have potentially averted the disaster or reduced its impact were not in place. The results further highlighted the apparent weak institutional arrangements toward disaster risk prevention, preparedness, and mitigation, viewed as cross-cutting themes in disaster management. The article argues that the scale of losses from this catastrophe epitomizes how the neglect for building risk reduction can consign an entire region to the mercy of disaster events.

【 授权许可】

CC BY