Agency decries grassroots’ low capabilities in disaster management.
Only 53 of the 774 local governments have some semblance of emergency management institutions, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said. This is grossly inadequate, the agency added.
Its Director General Muhammad Sani-Sidi, who highlighted low institutional capabilities in data generation; risk analysis, early warning services and gross inadequate funds as hindrances to effective and efficient disaster management at the states and local governments, noted that Nigeria was yet to meet the required number of fire stations per community.
Sidi spoke at the International Symposium of Integrated Disaster Risk Governance held in Beijing, China. He said poor implementation of existing disaster action plans and mitigation strategies as well as weak enforcement of the land use planning posed challenges.
Sidi said fire service stations in the country were far below the recommended numbers per community, noting that inadequate equipment for critical stakeholders posed another challenge.
According to him, Nigeria, through NEMA has been working in all priority areas, most especially institutional framework for DRR; risk assessment, monitoring and early warning; disaster education and capacity building, among others.
Sidi advocated private sector participation in disaster risk reduction, adding that conflict prevention and management should be included amongst the key priorities of Framework Two with consideration of the peculiarities of Africa and other developing nations noted.
To Sidi, Framework Two should be made a global convention rather than guidelines and principles for ratification by all nations, adding that international assistance should be based on the ratification.
Co-organised by United Nation International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) and Peoples’ Republic of China, the symposium was convened to bring together informed government officials and scientists to share their achievements and experience, to identify challenges and bottlenecks in the implementation of the current Hyogo Framework for Action. The symposium was also to provide recommendations and inputs for the formulation of the Post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
In Africa, Nigeria is one of the foremost countries with high level of commitment to the implementation of the HFA.
