A West Africa Disaster Preparedness Initiative course graduation ceremony provides an opportunity for officials to agree to promote regional collaboration on disaster preparedness.

Graduates of the 7th West Africa Disaster Preparedness Initiative (WADPI) course pose with faculty and senior government officials from Liberia, Nigeria and Ghana at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra, Ghana, Sept. 18, 2015. Funded by U.S. AFRICOM and executed by KAIPTC, the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) of Ghana, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), WADPI aims to strengthen national capacities in disaster preparedness, response and management among 17 African Partner Nations, primarily ECOWAS member states, and Mauritania, Chad and Cameroon. (Photo by the KAIPTC-WADPI Communications Team/Released)

WADPI Graduates: Senior officials from Liberia and Nigeria attend graduation ceremony of the 7th West African Disaster Preparedness Initiative. L-R: Director General of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, Dr. Abdulsalam Nasidi; Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Hans Barchue; Deputy Commandant of KAIPTC, Air Commodore Julius Dzamefe; and WADPI Course Director, Colonel Kennedy Osemwegie present certificates to a Nigerian and Liberian graduates at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra, Ghana, Sept. 18, 2015. Funded by U.S. AFRICOM and executed by KAIPTC, the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) of Ghana, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), WADPI aims to strengthen national capacities in disaster preparedness, response and management among 17 African Partner Nations, primarily ECOWAS member states, and Mauritania, Chad and Cameroon. (Photo by the KAIPTC-WADPI Communications Team/Released)

WADPI Graduates: Mr. Mohammed Sani Sidi (left),Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency in Nigeria, in a dialogue with the National Coordinator of National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) in Ghana, Brig. Gen. Francis Vib-Sanziri. Both men attended the graduation ceremony of the 7th West African Disaster Preparedness Initiative class of nearly 120 people from Nigeria and Liberia, at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra, Ghana, Sept. 18, 2015. Funded by U.S. AFRICOM and executed by KAIPTC, the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) of Ghana, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), WADPI aims to strengthen national capacities in disaster preparedness, response and management among 17 African Partner Nations, primarily ECOWAS member states, and Mauritania, Chad and Cameroon. (Photo by the KAIPTC-WADPI Communications Team/Released)

The event represents successful international collaboration, hosted by the Government of Senegal, sponsored by USAFRICOM and executed by The Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine.

Exercise participants engage in an interactive dialogue about the five pillars of disaster management: communications, health, logistics, operations and security, during the Republic of Senegal Disaster Preparedness and Response Exercise in Dakar, Senegal, 3 June. The event represents successful international collaboration, hosted by the Government of Senegal, sponsored by USAFRICOM and executed by The Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine. (U.S. Africa Command photos by Petty Officer First Class D. Keith Simmons)

Exercise participants engage in an interactive dialogue about the five pillars of disaster management: communications, health, logistics, operations and security, during the Republic of Senegal Disaster Preparedness and Response Exercise in Dakar, Senegal, 3 June. The event represents successful international collaboration, hosted by the Government of Senegal, sponsored by USAFRICOM and executed by The Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine. (U.S. Africa Command photos by Petty Officer First Class D. Keith Simmons)

Exercise participants engage in an interactive dialogue about the five pillars of disaster management: communications, health, logistics, operations and security, during the Republic of Senegal Disaster Preparedness and Response Exercise in Dakar, Senegal, 3 June. The event represents successful international collaboration, hosted by the Government of Senegal, sponsored by USAFRICOM and executed by The Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine. (U.S. Africa Command photos by Petty Officer First Class D. Keith Simmons)

Exercise participants engage in an interactive dialogue about the five pillars of disaster management: communications, health, logistics, operations and security, during the Republic of Senegal Disaster Preparedness and Response Exercise in Dakar, Senegal, 3 June. The event represents successful international collaboration, hosted by the Government of Senegal, sponsored by USAFRICOM and executed by The Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine. (U.S. Africa Command photos by Petty Officer First Class D. Keith Simmons)

Exercise participants engage in an interactive dialogue about the five pillars of disaster management: communications, health, logistics, operations and security, during the Republic of Senegal Disaster Preparedness and Response Exercise in Dakar, Senegal, 3 June. The event represents successful international collaboration, hosted by the Government of Senegal, sponsored by USAFRICOM and executed by The Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine. (U.S. Africa Command photos by Petty Officer First Class D. Keith Simmons)

Exercise participants engage in an interactive dialogue about the five pillars of disaster management: communications, health, logistics, operations and security, during the Republic of Senegal Disaster Preparedness and Response Exercise in Dakar, Senegal, 3 June. The event represents successful international collaboration, hosted by the Government of Senegal, sponsored by USAFRICOM and executed by The Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine. (U.S. Africa Command photos by Petty Officer First Class D. Keith Simmons)

The event represented a successful collaboration among international and interagency organizations, with the Government of Senegal hosting an event sponsored by U.S. Africa Command and executed by the Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine. (U.S. Africa Command photos by Petty Officer First Class D. Keith Simmons)

The Government of Senegal gathered with representatives from the U. S. Government to include, U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM), the Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine (CDHAM), Vermont Army National Guard and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency to unveil the Republic of Senegal Disaster Preparedness and Response Plans during a ceremony held in Dakar, Senegal, June 2, 2014.

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