Mr Mustapha Ahmed, Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has reiterated the agency’s committment to building capacities of its staff and their state counterparts, to deliver excellent services during disasters in the country.
Ahmed made this known during a four-day workshop organised for staff of the agency and staff of various State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs) on Wednesday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop was organised in collaboration with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United States Forest Service (USFS).
NAN also reports that the training is aimed at impacting on the participants, essential knowledge on “Basic/Intermediate Incident Command System and Emergency Operations Center”
Ahmed said that giving increasing frequency and severity of disasters worldwide, it was important for the country to have an effective coordination during emergencies.
The director-general said the workshop would provide the participants opportunity to gain insights into incident command structures, resource allocation and decision-making processes within the Incident Command System.
He added that the training would also expose the participants an opportunity to design, set up and efficiently operate Emergency Operations Centers, thereby ensuring a well organised and timely disaster response in the country.
He commended the USAID for organising the workshop for its staff and staff of SEMAs, adding that the impact of the training would be felt across the country.
“I want to ensure and see that all states, all local governments are fully ready to tackle disasters.
“Disaster management is everybody’s business and I can say the trainings we have been embarking on this year has been impactful.
“We can see improvement compared to last year when the flood occured.
“Now people are getting more prepared and the awareness has been great and that is why we are involving those at the states,”he said.
In his remarks, Mr Brehan Doud, Head of USAID Technical team, commended NEMA for partnering with the agency to enhance capacity of disaster managers across the country.
“This training not only strengthens the abilities of local agencies to handle emergencies but also encourages cooperation and interoperability among diverse stakeholders.
“Ultimately, this initiative reflects USAID and NEMA’s unwavering commitment to advancing global and local resilience and disaster preparedness in Nigeria,” he said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Source: News Agency of Nigeria