In celebration of the 2020 International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDR), with the theme ‘Disaster Risk Governance,’ the FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has re-assured FCT residents of the agency’s commitment to ensuring safe and disaster-free environment for all.
In a statement he signed and made available to Blueprint Wednesday, Director General of FEMA, Abbas G. Idriss, said this year’s theme, according to the United Nations, ‘is about conveying the message that many disasters can be avoided or prevented if there are disaster risk reduction strategies in place to manage and reduce existing levels of risk and to avoid the creation of new risk, which amounts to good disaster risk governance.”
The statement reads in part: “In line with the IDDR 2020 theme, disaster risk reduction has been at the centre of the FCT’s disaster management’s strategy, hence, the Agency’s resource allocation has always been in favour of risk prevention and mitigation rather than relief and rehabilitation.”
“The Agency is proud to state that, from its inception in June 2013, it has been operating on a risk prevention strategy that is driven by synergy with various stakeholders.
“This synergy is derived from a document produced by FEMA and its stakeholders under the auspices of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in August 2013- the FCT Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan (EPRP), which is reviewed annually to meet the challenges of current and emerging disasters in the Federal Capital Territory.”
He added: “As part of its Disaster Risk Reduction strategy, the Agency has created a high level of awareness amongst the FCT residents on a number of emergency management issues, especially the need to avoid acts that increase the people’s vulnerability to disaster risk, including strong synergies amongst stakeholders and agencies involved in emergency prevention, mitigation and response activities in the FCT.”
“Also, the agency has actively involved itself in conflict management in FCT communities including mediation between cattle herders and farmers, trained volunteers on fire prevention, with 150 volunteers trained on fire prevention strategies.”
