The Executive Secretary Kano State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Alhaji Isyaku Kubarachi, says preparedness for emergency remained an essential tool for managing disasters to save lives and property.
Kubarachi said this at the opening of a one-day stakeholders meeting on 2024 rainy season on Thursday in Kano.
The one day meeting was organized by SEMA in collaboration with United Nations International Children’s Fund(UNICEF) on 2024 rainy season “flood, food security preparedness and mitigation plan.
He said that the meeting was organized to reduce humanitarian,social, economic and environmental impact and prevent disaster.
According to him, careful planning for preparedness and rapid response would curtail the impact of emergencies and avert occurrences particularly man made disasters.
“The state government under Governor Abba Kabir-Yusuf, has commenced clearing drainages within Kano metropolis and instructed the interim management officers of local governments to make similar arrangements.
“A high-powered Committee, led by the Deputy Governor Aminu Abdussalam, has been established to oversee the desilting of drainages across all the 44 local governments to prevent flooding during this year’s rainy season” Kubarachi said
Also, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Coordinator Kano Territorial Office, Dr Nuraddeen Abdullahi, describe the meeting as apt due to the increasing danger disaster pose to economic and social development.
Abdullahi, represented by Kano NEMA Head of Admin and Human Resources, Suleiman Abubakar, said there is need to emphasis bottom up response system to improve community resilence as the world grapples increasing flood disasters.
He noted that the impact of climate change on rural women and children as well as the expensive of nature of disaster recovery are enormous.
“When we roll out plans and actions on disaster risk management,we definitely save people from castastropy” he said
The Chief of field office UNICEF Kano, Mr Rahma Mohammed-Farah, pointed out that drain and waste management is a subject of particular interest for UNICEF as perennial floods have impacted water sources and collapsed sanitation facilities.
Mohammed-Farah, represented by Officer in charge of UNICEF Kano ,Mr Micheal banda, said UNICEF in partnership with SEMA has worked with several MDAs to ensure that activities aimed at cleaning up Kano’ s drainage are effectively implemented.
“To operationalize our disaster preparedness strategy, we need to make use of the information available, understand our situation vulnerabilities,work together and communicate with the public” Mohammed-Farah said
He called on Kano State government to pass the state SEMA bill into law.
