In order to provide effective services to save lives and property during times of flooding, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has started training its staff and the staff of States Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs) on critical disaster management aspects.
Ezekiel Manzo, a spokesman for NEMA, stated that this training is a part of an ongoing initiative by the organization, led by director general Mustapha Ahmed, to reposition NEMA toward effective execution of its mandates in timely coordination of disaster management across the nation.
Speaking at the training’s opening on Tuesday in Abuja, Ahmed said that it was intended to increase the capacity of NEMA and SEMA officials in a number of areas, including resource mobilization, information management, community-based disaster management, search and rescue, incident command systems, disaster preparedness, risk management, and early warning systems.
“Training of personnel is a critical component for effective and efficient disaster management,” he declared, adding that NEMA would keep looking for ways to build the capacity of its employees and stakeholders so that all disaster management principles and procedures would become institutionalized.
The director general also stated that NEMA facilitated training programs for the SEMAs in collaboration with the United States Fire Service in January 2023 and with the Bournemouth University Disaster Management Center in February 2023. This was done in line with the desire to continuously improve the capacity of the stakeholders in disaster management.
He added that plans were already in place for another capacity-building program to take place soon.
Ahmed also emphasized the importance of working together with development partners to train stakeholders, noting that this was “a step in the right direction to enhance the capacity of Federal and State emergency management officers” given that the training was carried out in cooperation with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA). “.
Esty Sukoyo, deputy head of the UN-OCHA office in Nigeria, stated that OCHA will continue working with NEMA in accordance with its mandates.
She counseled attendees to take advantage of the training to advance their skills and spread them throughout their various offices.
