The Enugu State Emergency Management Agency (ENSEMA) organized a 2-Day workshop on the Review and Development of Enugu State Emergency Preparedness/Response plan on the 30th – 31st January, 2024 at Nike Lake Resort, Enugu.
The workshop was declared open by the Executive Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, who was represented by the Hon. Commissioner for special duties, Hon. Sunday Emeka Ajogwu, and had in attendance major stakeholders such as, NEMA, NSCDC, FRSC, FIRE SERVICE, Nigeria Air Force, UNICEF, Ministry of Health, FAAN, Gender Commission, NGOs, FBOs, Local Government Chairmen, Red Cross Society of Nigeria, Traditional council and the Media. The workshop is meant to review and develop an emergency preparedness and response plan for Enugu State.
There were paper presentations from different speakers and development/adoption of an emergency preparedness/response plans by all stakeholders present.
Topics covered include;
• Contemporary Issues of Disaster Management, an Overview of Enugu State – Presented by Dr, Ejike Udeinya (NEMA, Abuja)
• General Overview of Emergency Response Plan – Presented by Mr. Eebri Eteng (UNICEF)
• Coordination Mechanism in Disaster Management – Presented by Dr. Ejike Udeinya (NEMA, Abuja)
• Risk Analysis of Enugu State and need for Action Plan – Presented by Mr. Eebri Eteng (UNICEF)
The participants were later divided into four (4) groups to develop an action plan each in relation to Humanitarian emergencies, medical emergencies, Environmental emergencies and Coordination. Each team had a representative who presented their plan to the general house for corrections and input. The plans were then forwarded to Enugu State SEMA for onward submission to the State governor for final adoption
The workshop was well attended and very interactive. However, the absence of Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Army was felt as the major emergency facing Enugu state and the country at large is insecurity. It could have been worthwhile if the two major security outfit were on ground to share their thoughts and experience as regards to tackling insecurity in the state
The following recommendations were made:
• Swift adoption of the plan by the state government.
• Swift compilation and distribution of the plan among stakeholders.
• Annual review of the plan to meet up with global standards.
• Improved collaboration among stakeholders during emergency response.
The theme of workshop was apt and topics discussed were aimed at tackling different emergency preparedness/response approaches as well as enhancing coordination of emergency responders in Enugu state.
