Adamawa state Government in collaboration with the United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF) has begun a 5-day stakeholder’s workshop on multi-hazards risk assessments and development of emergency preparedness response plan document for Adamawa State.
The workshop, also supported by the Government of the United States, brought together stakeholders from multiple sectors such as the Federal Ministry of Health, Water Resources, Environment, ADSEMA, National Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), security agencies, CSOs and other partners in the health sector.
The organisers said it was aimed at tackling the various hazards and developing an all encompassing multi-hazard risk assessment emergency preparedness and response framework for the state.
Speaking at the workshop on Wednesday in Yola, the state commissioner for Health and Human Services, Mohammed Chubado Jada, commended partners for their intervention and continuous support, collaborations and dedication to advancing public health security and humanitarian challenges in the state.
The commissioner, who was represented by the permanent secretary of the ministry, pharmacist Mathias Zira, noted that the state over the years has continued to contend with range of public health and humanitarian challenges including diseases outbreaks, climate related emergencies and population displacement among other issues, describing the workshop as long overdue.
He noted that the workshop would provide a strategic platform to identify, assess and prioritise the hazards and vulnerability affecting the state.
Also speaking, UNICEF health specialist, Dr. Eghe Abe, said that Adamawa like other states in the country is facing with a lot of public health emergencies ranging from cholera, Diphtheria, Meningitis, measles, flooding among others which prompted UNICEF to secure U.S grant to work with the state government towards identifying those hazards and produce a working document that will enable the state to address the challenges.
On his part, the state Epidemiologist, Kadabiyu Jones, said when developed, the document would give the state a clear view of the risks they have in Adamawa and enable the state to identify, assess, prepare and respond to such emergencies even before they occurred.