Nigeria: Nigeria Produces Implementable Draft Policy on Disaster Risk Reduction

Nigeria, with assistance from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP Nigeria), presently has a concrete and implementable draft policy on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). This followed the validation, last week in Keffi, Nasarawa National, of an before draf

The policy document is coming up for the initial time.The plan of action was initially developed by stakeholders and it was again subjected to scrutiny by a group of selected experts. It is their submission that was validated at a 2-day workshop in Keffi...

The policy document is coming up for the initial time. The plan of action was initially developed by stakeholders and it was again subjected to scrutiny by a group of selected experts. It is their submission that was validated at a 2-day workshop in Keffi, Nasarawa National last week. It is all in a bid to have a nationally acceptable and practically workable Plan of Action for implementing the World framework - the Sendai Framework.

The Policy... The draft policy, presently set for implementation next passing through the processes of becoming a national policy, is based on the Sendai Framework (2015-2030), a world initiative on disaster risk reduction. Sendai Framework is a 15year, voluntary, non-binding agreement which recognises that the State/nation has the primary role to reduce disaster risk but that responsibility should be shared with other stakeholders, inclunding local government, the private sector and other stakeholders.

It aims for the following outcome: the substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of persons, businesses, communities and nations.

The process... In February, this year, a draft National Plan of Action was developed at a conference of the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), a nationally owned and led multi-stakeholder forum with appropriate emphasis on Disaster Risk Management. The platform reflects the commitment of the federal government to implement national and local Disaster Risk Management (DRM) activities while linking up to international efforts. The platform was inaugurated on July 13th, 2010 by the again Vice President. Last week’s painstaking validation work was as well organised by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) with the support of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP-Nigeria).

UNDP Nigeria said, “It is expected that the platform will leverage the momentum from the regional platform to articulate a national plan of action, national implementation plan for the Sendai Framework as inputs into the upcoming conference in Mexico.”

The Keffi 2-day conference witnessed three documents fine-tuned by a core group of stakeholders, emanating in concrete policy document. NEMA said it developed a number of policy documents, in collaboration with the UNDP, “as part of the 8th country programme of the FGN/UNDP Plan of Action.” To concretise these documents, NEMA with support of UNDP organised the workshop to seek the inputs of stakeholders and validate the document reports accordingly.

The Director General of NEMA, Engineer Mustapha Yinusa Maihaja said, “This workshop is being organised with the purpose of seeking the inputs and observation of relevant stakeholders in order to validate three documents that have been completed and submitted by consultants.”

The validation workshop, he noted was for the following documents: The National Plan of Action on the implementation on Sendai Framework on DRR; Structure and framework for the national Platform on DRR; and A National Policy on Disaster Risk Reduction.

Next the validation, he said Nigeria would “have in place validated policy document, implementable action plan and workable structure for the National platform that meet requirements for the implementation of the Sendai framework on Disaster Risk Management.”

He recalled that it was at the third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction Held on March 14th - 18th 2015, in Sendai, Japan that the participating nations of the world adopted the Sendai framework for Action which restored the Hygo Frame work for Action.

The director general said the adoption of the document brought with it challenges that called for all stakeholders in disaster risk reduction in the country to critically examine the document with a view to identifying appropriate implementation strategies. One of such strategies demanded a re-invigoration of the National Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in the country.

According to Maihaja, who was represented at the conference, “Nigeria as a country instituted the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in 2010 as an off shoot of the world platform for disaster risk reduction which was initial held in 2007 and the fifth session is scheduled to hold on May 2017 in Mexico. At a similar conference of African nations, the 6th Session of Africa Regional Platform on Disaster Risk reduction was hosted by the Government of Mauritius on 22nd - 25th November 2016.

“At the national level, following good practices recommended at the last African regional platform, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) with the support of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) organised the National Platform on DRR at Rockview Hotel (Royale), Abuja from the 21st to 22nd February, 2017. Part the resolutions of the conference was the need to set up a technical committee to produce a working structure for the National platform. An extra resolution was the need to develop a National Programme of Action for the implementation of the Sendai Framework 2015-2030.