Health
THE United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), on Tuesday, started a three-day training to strengthen capacity of personnel of emergency management institutions in states in the North-West region of Nigeria.
The training with the theme: “Community Engagement for Social and Behaviour Change in Humanitarian Action and Sudden-Onset Emergency Response” is holding in Kano.
The training, which is in collaboration with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) aims to strengthen the capacity of emergency management institutions and partners across the North-West to improve preparedness, communication and coordinated response to humanitarian crises affecting vulnerable communities.
Mr Shafeeq Ur-Rehman, the Chief of Field Office, UNICEF, Kano Field Office, said that effective emergency response depended greatly on community trust, participation and resilience, particularly amid increasing floods, disease outbreaks, displacement and insecurity.
Ur-Rehman said that community engagement, including Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE), had become an essential component of emergency preparedness, early warning, response and recovery.
According to him, meaningful engagement with communities helps promote life-saving behaviours, counter misinformation, strengthen coordination among humanitarian actors and improve accountability to affected populations during emergencies.
He said that the participants drawn from Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states would acquire practical skills to strengthen institutional capacity and improve emergency preparedness and response in their respective states.
The UNICEF official added that the Community Engagement for Social and Behaviour Change in Humanitarian Action Toolkit (CHAT) provided a practical framework for integrating community engagement into emergency preparedness and emergency response activities.
Ur-Rehman commended NEMA for partnering with UNICEF to strengthen Nigeria’s emergency preparedness systems and reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to supporting efforts aimed at protecting vulnerable populations, particularly women and children.
He urged participants to apply the knowledge gained during the training to improve coordination, preparedness and emergency response, while promoting stronger collaboration among stakeholders to build resilient communities.
Earlier, the Director of Planning, Research and Forecasting at NEMA, Dr Godwin Tepikor, said the initiative would encourage inclusive approaches, strengthen accountability and deepen collaboration among stakeholders involved in humanitarian response.
Tepikor, represented by the Head of Operations, NEMA Kano Office, Mr Nuradeen Abdullahi, urged participants to exchange experiences and translate the knowledge gained into practical solutions that would strengthen community resilience.
He said that empowering communities, promoting inclusion and encouraging stronger partnerships would enhance emergency preparedness, improve disaster response and contribute to the development of safer and more resilient societies.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the Kano State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Alhaji Isyaku Kubarachi, commended UNICEF and NEMA for supporting efforts to strengthen humanitarian preparedness and resilience in the state.
Kubarachi said that the partnership would enhance emergency management, improve risk communication and strengthen accountability to affected communities through better coordination and sustained humanitarian interventions.
He stressed the importance of strengthening early warning systems, promoting community preparedness, improving environmental sanitation and ensuring coordinated stakeholder action to reduce the impact of flooding and other emergencies.
The SEMA executive secretary urged participants to translate the knowledge acquired during the training into practical actions that would improve disaster response, protect lives and property, and enhance community resilience.
He reaffirmed the commitment of the Kano State Government under Gov. Abba Kabir Yusuf to building resilient communities through effective disaster risk reduction and sustained collaboration with humanitarian and development partners.
Some participants who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) commended UNICEF and NEMA for organising the training, pledging to cascade the knowledge acquired to relevant stakeholders within their communities and institutions to strengthen emergency preparedness and response.
(NAN)
A.I
Aug. 4, 2026
Tags: NEMA UNICEF