Addressing disaster risk in the African Context: A timely call for constitutional reform

The attached paper, “Addressing Constitutional Gaps in Ghana’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Framework,” urgently and timely analyses the constitutional provisions needed to manage Ghana’s escalating climate and environmental threats effectively.

This study was motivated by an invitation to submit a memorandum to Ghana’s 2025 Constitutional Review Committee (CRC), offering a unique opportunity to address fundamental governance gaps in disaster management.

While focused on Ghana’s specific context, the findings and recommendations have broad applicability across the African continent, where many nations face comparable challenges of coastal erosion, flooding, and climate-related disasters without adequate constitutional frameworks to address them.

The paper’s proposals—particularly establishing a dedicated Disaster Management Fund as a constitutional mandate—offer a pathway for Ghana and such nations to move from reactive crisis response to proactive risk management.

With natural disasters currently costing Ghana an estimated 2-3% of GDP annually and similar economic impacts evident across the continent, constitutional reform represents not merely a governance enhancement but an economic imperative.

As climate change intensifies and environmental threats multiply, the window for implementing these constitutional reforms is narrowing. The recommendations presented here provide a blueprint for constitutional adaptation that balances fiscal responsibility with the fundamental obligation to protect citizens from intensifying environmental hazards.

The writer, Col. Festus Aboagye is a retired military officer.

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