The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and other stakeholders Wednesday brainstormed on the development of National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy 2024-2030 and Action Plan 2024-2027.
Speaking during a stakeholders’ consultative workshop in Abuja, the Director General of NEMA, AVM Mustapha Habib Ahmed (rtd), said the plan is critical to enable Nigeria to align with and drive the targets of the Sendai Framework and the African Programme of Action on Disaster Risk Reduction.
He said: “The need for the development of this plan arises from the outcomes of the assessment conducted by Overseas Development Institute on behalf of the UNDP on the Sahel Resilience Program. The assessment was aimed at ascertaining the status of disaster risk reduction in the evaluation of the implementation of Sendai Framework 2015-2030 in the seven West African Sahel countries of Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal.
“Findings in the assessment report indicate that in furtherance to the plans and frameworks so far produced by the NEMA, it is necessary to develop comprehensive document for disaster risk management for Nigeria. This plan is also very critical to enable Nigeria to align with and drive the targets of the Sendai Framework and the African Program of Action on Disaster Risk Reduction.
“Furthermore, the recent escalation and growing frequency and severity of disasters in form of banditry, boat mishaps, building collapse, urban and market fires coupled with hydro-meteorological hazards powered by climate change and climate variability ignited the compelling desire to develop the Nigeria disaster risk management plan.
“Just yesterday, I returned from a consultation visit to the governors of Adamawa and Taraba states on exploring ways of reducing the rate of occurrence of boat accidents that have resulted in the loss of several lives during the year in communities along Rivers Benue and Niger.”