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The National Disaster Response Plan

 

The National Disaster Response Plan (NDRP) was prepared within the span of two years through researches and analysis of experts from different fields with relevance to disaster management. 
The document has been approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to serve as a policy guideline for disaster management in Nigeria.
The document established a process and structure for the systematic, coordinated and effective delivery of Federal Assistance, to address the consequences of any major disaster or emergency declared by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
It has been prepared to set forth fundamental policies, planning assumptions, concepts of operation, response and recovery, and also describes the responsibilities of agencies and Private Sector organizations. It has been designed in such a way that it spells out the process and methodology for implementing and managing Federal Government Recovery and Mitigation Programmes, and support Technical Services.
The Plan provides a focus for inter-agency and inter-governmental emergency preparedness, planning, training, exercising, coordination and information exchange. The plan also indicates the scope of Federal Government response assistance that a state is most likely to require under the 13 Support Service Areas(SSAs), each of which has a designated Primary Agency that acts as lead in the Support Service Area. It is also of utmost importance to understand that the format adopted in the preparation of the document allows flexibility, which makes it very easy to work with. The document’s scope is mainly guided by the concepts of Response and Recovery. 
Response activities include direction and control, early warning, evacuation and emergency services. These are designed to address immediate and short-term effects of the onset of an emergency or disaster. They help to reduce casualties and damage and also to speed up recovery programs.
Recovery includes both short and long-term activities. Short term operations seek to restore critical services to the community and provide for the basic needs of the public. Long-term recovery focuses on restoring the community to its normal or improved state of affairs. Examples of recovery actions could be temporary housing and feeding, restoration of non-vital government services, and reconstruction of damaged areas.
The National Disaster Response Plan (NDRP) also specified the roles of every stakeholder in Emergency Disaster Management in such an explicit way that their activities can be performed with very little supervision and thus, allows for smooth operation of Disaster Management.
The Support Service Area Section of the Document describes the Mission, Policies, Concepts of operation and responsibilities of the primary and support agencies involved in the implementation of key response functions that supplements state and local government activities during emergencies and disasters.
The Support Service Area has been subdivided into 13 SSAs to enable them handle specific areas of disasters where the Agencies are specialized.
 
These include:
  • Transport
  • Communication
  • Public Works and Engineering
  • Fire Fighting
  • Information and Planning
  • Mass Care
  • Resource Support
  • Health and Medical services
  • Search and rescue
  • Hazardous Materials
  • Food and Water
  • Military/Police Support
Every Agency and Organization relevant to emergency management have been systematically divided to fit into a Support Service Area where their expertise would be maximally utilized. This is to allow “for efficiency and speed” which remains the watchword in disaster preparedness as well as for Search and rescue operations.

NEMA Nigeria

All correspondences should be addressed to: Public Relations Division, National Emergency Management Agency, No. 8, Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent Maitama, Abuja Email: nemapress@yahoo.com or info@nema.gov.ng

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