By
Jamilu Abubakar
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in partnership with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), has commenced a three-day training to strengthen community-centred emergency preparedness and response across seven northern states.
The training, held in Gombe, brings together emergency preparedness and response actors from Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Plateau, Taraba and Yobe States.
Participants are drawn from NEMA, UNICEF, the National Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Ministries of Information and other relevant agencies.
The training focuses on the Community Engagement for Social and Behaviour Change in Humanitarian Action Toolkit, known as CHAT.
The toolkit is designed to equip emergency responders with practical skills in community engagement, risk communication, accountability and coordinated response to sudden-onset emergencies.
Speaking at the training, UNICEF Nigeria Deputy Representative, Dr Rownak Khan, said affected communities must be involved from the beginning of humanitarian interventions.
She said Nigeria faces both natural and human-induced emergencies, making it necessary for responders to understand the needs, concerns and feedback of affected communities.
Dr Khan stressed that humanitarian response requires collaboration among different sectors, particularly during emergencies such as floods.
She called on state governments to provide leadership for effective multi-sectoral coordination.
The UNICEF Deputy Representative said the organisation would work with participating officials and its field offices across the seven states to ensure that the knowledge gained translates into practical community-level action.
UNICEF Social and Behaviour Change Officer for Emergencies, Margaret Adaba Soyemi, said the training was timely as Nigeria continues to experience floods, disease outbreaks, displacement and other emergencies.
She said women and children are particularly vulnerable during crises, making effective preparedness and response critical.
Representing NEMA’s Operations Office, Zonal Chief Fire Officer, Abubakar Haruna, described the training as timely, especially during the rainy season.
He said disaster management was not the responsibility of one agency, stressing the need for stronger collaboration among government institutions, traditional and religious leaders, the media and communities.
The Executive Secretary of the Gombe State Emergency Management Agency, Haruna Abdullahi, urged participants to apply and share the knowledge gained with relevant actors in their respective states.
Participants pledged to step down the knowledge acquired to strengthen community engagement and emergency preparedness in their states.
