Anosike Advocates Inter-agency Partnership To Address Humanitarian Emergency
By Stella Enenche, Abuja
The Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Prof. Charles Anosike,has advocated inter-agency partnership to achieve collective success for the country in addressing humanitarian emergencies occasioned by climate change and extreme weather events.
He made the call on Thursday at the 2nd roundtable meeting on ‘Anticipatory Action Framework For Nigeria in Abuja.
The meeting which was a follow-up to the November 2024 meeting convened by the Office of the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Kashim Shettima, in collaboration with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), is aimed at developing a unified approach and framework for anticipatory action in Nigeria.
Professor Anosike said; “In NiMet, with competent personnel and improved technological tools, we provide early warnings products and services through accurate, timely and actionable weather forecasts and climate prediction that allows anticipation of severe weather events. This enables individuals, authorities, and communities prepare for anticipatory early action such as evacuation, resource mobilization, infrastructure reinforcement, etc”.
“Our work, through continuous weather observation, monitoring and reporting, and impact-based forecasting is crucial for disaster
preparedness and response thereby ensuring the right quantity of human and material resources are mobilised for the safety of vulnerable communities”, Professor Anosike concluded.
In his remarks, , the Head of Office for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Nigeria
Trond Jensen said; “We live in a changing world, both in terms of climate change, and changing demographics which makes some people more vulnerable.
“However, the prevention is always better than the cure. So our ability to anticipate so that we can prevent or mitigate climate-related incidents, not only do we reduce suffering, but we also save money in the process, which is critical”.
The Director General, of Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA)Arch. Umar Mohammed said he hoped that from the deliberations, participants would be able to come up with solutions and actionable plans to be able to deliver on the changes required to mitigate climate impacts.
The Special Adviser on Humanitarian and Development Partners to the President in the Office of the Vice President, Inna Audu said that the Vice President, Kashim Shettima is concerned about the people and how to help them mitigate all the factors that affect them daily and also yearly when the disasters occur.
Deputy Director of Planning and Research at Nigeria Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Fred Anusim, who represented the Director General of NEMA, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, said that anticipatory action is important in every disaster management policy.
Participants at the meeting were drawn from the Office of the Vice President of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet), the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
