… as NiMET Hosts 2nd Roundtable Meeting on Anticipatory Action Framework for Nigeria
The General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Prof. Charles Anosike, has advocated for inter-agency cooperation and partnership to achieve collective success for Nigeria.
Anosike raised the advocacy at the agency’s hosting of the 2nd roundtable meeting on ‘Anticipatory Action Framework For Nigeria’, aimed at developing a unified approach and framework for anticipatory action in Nigeria.
The meeting held on Thursday, 12th December 2024 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).
Welcoming the participants, Anosike said that the President Bola Tinubu administration continues to play a crucial role in addressing humanitarian emergencies occasioned by conflicts, natural disasters, extreme weather events, climate change, and others.
Continuing, 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 mobilisation, infrastructure reinforcement, and others.
“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.”
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 Ibrahim 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.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser on Humanitarian and Development Partners to the President in the Office of the Vice President, Inna Audu, reported that the Vice President, 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.
On his part, the 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, NiMet, NIHSA and NEMA.