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The National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) has engaged the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) on the potential introduction of the “Climate Resilience Settlement Development Plan” in Sierra Leone. On Wednesday,3rd December, 2025.
NDMA’s Director of Partnership, Mr. Soko Kai-Samba, who initiated the process, reaffirmed NDMA’s commitment to leveraging technology and strategic partnerships to enhance disaster risk reduction.
“This engagement is a major step toward modernizing how we collect, manage, and apply disaster-related data. Our ambition is to ensure the NDMA benefits from evidence-based global tools that can significantly improve community resilience,” he said.
NDMA’s Director General, John V. Rogers, who chaired the engagement, welcomed the CRS team and lauded the initiative, noting that it aligns with the Agency’s vision for a data-driven national disaster management system. He emphasized that such a platform could greatly improve early warning capabilities, preparedness planning, and post-disaster recovery.
“We cannot build resilience on assumptions. Reliable, shared, and accessible data is the backbone of effective disaster management, and this initiative provides a strong pathway toward achieving that,” he remarked.
Jeanne Ella Andrianambinina, Country Representative of Catholic Relief Services, explained that the Climate Resilience Settlement Development Plan is designed to help governments and communities identify hazards, map vulnerabilities, and develop safer, more resilient settlements.
She noted that the platform “brings together scientific data, technology, and community-generated information into a single user-friendly interface, which would enable informed decision making that protects lives and critical infrastructure.”
She reiterated CRS’s readiness to continue working closely with NDMA and other partners to assess the feasibility of adopting the tool in Sierra Leone. She further noted that the platform will offer a unified data system accessible to key institutions, including NDMA and the Freetown City Council (FCC).
The CRS also did a virtual presentation which highlighted how the platform has significantly enhanced urban planning, strengthened multi-hazard preparedness, and improved disaster risk governance in Nepal and Pakistan.
Finally, the proposed pilot phase in Sierra Leone is expected to be rolled out early next year and would target three flood-prone communities in Freetown, Kolleh Town, Cockle Bay, and Kroo Bay.
