By Awyetu Asabe Hope
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), alongside the World Bank and civil society partners, has commenced a review of Nigeria’s disaster management frameworks to address emerging climate, environmental, and security risks.
Speaking at a two-day stakeholders’ workshop in Abuja on Wednesday NEMA Director-General Zubaida Umar said the review of the National Disaster Management Framework and National Disaster Response Plan was necessary due to increasing floods, climate-related hazards, insecurity, disease outbreaks, and urban emergencies.
She said the updated frameworks would strengthen coordination, improve early warning systems, clarify stakeholder roles, and better protect vulnerable groups, including women, children, persons with disabilities, and the elderly.
World Bank disaster risk management specialist Francis Nkoka said the review would help strengthen Nigeria’s disaster risk management architecture and align it with emerging risks and global best practices.
Also, Patience Ogolo-Dixon of the Advocacy for Women with Disabilities Initiative called for disability inclusion in disaster preparedness and response, warning that vulnerable groups are often excluded from emergency interventions.
NEMA’s Director of Planning, Research and Forecasting, Godwin Tepikor, said contributions from government agencies, development partners, humanitarian organisations, academia, and civil society would help develop practical solutions to enhance national resilience and emergency response.
