The UNDP Togo project fits within the context of the Africa Multi-Hazard Early Warning and Early Action System – AMHEWAS, designed by African Union Commission, aiming at strengthening national emergency management systems. Togo’s Agence Nationale de la Protection Civile (ANPC), with support from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP-Togo) designed Centre National des Opérations d’Urgence (CNOU), an operational structure equipped to deal with all emergencies, including hydro-climatic emergencies, throughout the country. Its main role is to coordinate early warning and emergency management on a national scale. For this project CIMA Research Foundation and WASCAL (West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use), as implementing partners, are working together to equip and set up the CNOU, with a particular focus on the functioning of the situation room connected to the continental network, strengthening capacities to deal with risks of the country. The project also includes a preliminary definition of SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) and an exercise using the MyDewetra platform.
Goals and expected results
The activities conducted by the WASCAL-CIMA consortium are articulated around the following milestones:
- Needs assessment and feasibility study to identify operational protocols, infrastructure requirements, and capacity gaps for the establishment of Togo’s National Operational and Emergency Center (CNOU)
- Installation and configuration of equipment and software purchased by UNDP based on the assessment, necessary to manage data and information
- Development of standard operating procedures (SOPs), communication protocols, and maintenance plan; comprehensive training of Agence Nationale de la Protection Civile – ANPC staff on equipment and software, operations, emergency response protocols, and data management following African Union Commission (AUC) standards and regional guidelines
- A simulation exercise to test the interoperability of Togo’s National Situation Room with Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and AUC situation rooms
CIMA Research Foundation’s contribution
CIMA Research Foundation is involved with WASCAL in the implementation of the above four steps. Particularly, it is responsible for:
- the functioning of equipments and softwares to ensure interoperability with regional and continental situation rooms, as well as the development of a maintenance plan for the equipment supplied
- drafting standard operating procedures and communication protocols to guide the operations of the national situation room, ensuring its smooth and consistent functioning, in line with AUC standards and regional guidelines
- conducting face-to-face training to ensure that all ANPC staff are trained to use the National Situation Room equipment and are able to manage emergency response operations
- developing a comprehensive and realistic exercise to test the interoperability and decision-making processes of the national situation room in collaboration with the ECOWAS and AUC situation rooms, through a real case study of past flooding in Togo
