UNICEF Advocates Contingency Plans to Safeguard Northeast Against Disasters, Disease Outbreaks
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said that Contingency Plans (COP) mitigate the impact of disasters and outbreaks of various diseases in the Northeast.
According to them, the plans could allow and start early recovery and rebuilding of living conditions of the affected people.
Unveiling the disasters’ mitigation measures, in Maiduguri, at the hazard risk analysis and contingency planning workshop for Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states.
UNICEF Chief of Borno Field Office, Gilmar Cruz disclosed: “The participants will be engaged in discussions to develop contingency plans for the BAY states affected in the over a decade conflict.”
He said that contingency plans are fundamental for the insurgency affected states overcome the challenges of disasters, including flooding and outbreaks of diseases.
His words: “If we are prepared, we cannot only respond better to the occurrence of human and natural disasters in the Northeast,” noting that this could reduce the levels of human sufferings in the affected communities.
Cruz attributed the disasters to armed conflict, natural shocks and epidemics in the BAY states.
He warned that disasters in Nigeria will continue to increase in frequency and magnitude with serious consequences on vulnerable population.
Continuing; he added: “In 2022 record rainfall, it caused flooding that had massive humanitarian impact affecting over 4 million persons in the country.”
He stated that in the northeast, many of the most at-risk communities were affected.
According to him, some of the LGAs have recorded cholera cases year after year.
While citing cases of fatalities, he said that in 2023, about 3,000 cases cholera were recorded, with a case fatality rate of three per cent.
“It is government responsibility to respond to those hazards,” he noted, while UNICEF is committed to strengthen government’s capacity and systems by addressing community vulnerability to the impact of disasters.
On the part of the global agency, is committed in supporting the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and SEMA to conduct countrywide risk analysis, with a baseline for developing mitigation strategies, including warning systems, and a developed contingency plans.
