UNICEF, NEMA Train North-West Emergency Responders…

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) have launched a three-day capacity-building workshop in Kano to equip emergency management stakeholders from six North-West states with practical skills to improve disaster preparedness, community engagement and emergency response.

Key Highlights
UNICEF and NEMA begin three-day emergency response training in Kano.

Officials from six North-West states participate in the workshop.

Training focuses on community engagement, early warning systems and infodemic management.

Stakeholders to adopt the Community Engagement in Humanitarian Action Toolkit (CHAT).

Initiative aims to strengthen disaster preparedness and protect vulnerable communities.

The workshop brings together emergency management officials from Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi states to enhance their capacity in using the Community Engagement in Humanitarian Action Toolkit (CHAT) for effective humanitarian response, public participation and infodemic management during emergencies.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Chief of UNICEF Kano Field Office, Shafeeq Ur-Rehman, said Nigeria continues to face floods, disease outbreaks, insecurity, displacement and other humanitarian emergencies, making community engagement critical to effective disaster response.

According to him, emergency interventions achieve better outcomes when communities are properly informed, actively involved and empowered to participate in decisions affecting their wellbeing.

Ur-Rehman noted that the North-West occupies a strategic position in strengthening disaster preparedness, early warning systems and coordinated emergency response, adding that sustained investment in state institutions would enable faster, more coordinated and more effective responses to future emergencies.

He described the programme as a government-led initiative supported by UNICEF in partnership with NEMA and other stakeholders, reaffirming UNICEF’s commitment to helping governments strengthen emergency preparedness systems that protect children, women and other vulnerable groups.

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Representing NEMA’s Director of Planning, Research and Forecasting, Dr. Godwin Tepikor, the Zonal Head of Operations, Dr. Nurudeen Abdullahi, described community engagement as a critical pillar of effective disaster management.

He stressed that timely dissemination of information through Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) approaches would strengthen early warning systems, encourage life-saving actions and improve community resilience during emergencies.

Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the Kano State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Isyaku Kubarachi, described the training as timely, given the recurring floods and other environmental hazards affecting the region.

He said strengthening community engagement would build public trust, improve early warning mechanisms and enhance emergency response while reaffirming the Kano State Government’s commitment to disaster preparedness through collaboration with development partners.