Tunde Bakare
The Director General (DG) of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mrs. Zubaida Umar, has reaffirmed the Agency’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s humanitarian transition in line with its statutory mandate of coordinating disaster management and humanitarian response across the country.
Mrs. Zubaida Umar gave the assurance at the opening of the Humanitarian Transition Workshop organised by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Abuja.
The Director General stated that NEMA remains committed to delivering coordination roles in disaster management activities.
She noted that the Agency has continued to adopt a proactive approach to disaster risk management by strengthening preparedness, promoting early warning and early action, and enhancing collaboration with stakeholders at the national, state and community levels.
She emphasized that effective humanitarian transition requires strong national ownership, institutional capacity and sustained partnerships among government institutions, development partners, civil society organisations and local communities.
According to her, NEMA will continue to work closely with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that vulnerable populations continue to receive timely and coordinated humanitarian assistance while strengthening resilience and sustainable recovery.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Bernard Doro, in his remark acknowledged the changing global humanitarian landscape that has necessitated the humanitarian transition process.
He urged state and local governments, the private sector, development partners and Nigerians in the diaspora to view the transition as a shared responsibility and mobilise resources to support vulnerable communities across the country.
Also speaking, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, Dr. Mohamed Malik Fall, assured that the humanitarian transition does not signify the withdrawal of the United Nations from Nigeria. Rather, he explained that it represents a strategic transformation aimed at enabling Nigerian institutions to take greater leadership in humanitarian interventions, while the United Nations system continues to provide technical expertise, capacity building and other critical support.
The Workshop brought together representatives of Federal and State Government institutions, United Nations agencies, development partners, civil society organisations and other key stakeholders to deliberate on strategies for strengthening nationally led humanitarian action and ensuring a smooth, coordinated transition towards sustainable and locally driven humanitarian response in Nigeria.