By Nkechi Eze
The Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency, Zubaida Umar, is participating in the 17th Consultation of Heads of Disaster Management Agencies and Civil Protection from member states of the Economic Community of West African States, holding in Abidjan, as efforts intensify to strengthen regional coordination in disaster preparedness and response.
The high-level forum, convened under the platform of the GECEAO, is focused on addressing the increasing frequency of climate-related disasters and humanitarian crises across West Africa, with stakeholders examining critical gaps, operational challenges, and emerging priorities in disaster risk management.
At the consultations, Umar is representing Nigeria alongside delegates from other ECOWAS member states, where discussions are centred on aligning national strategies with regional frameworks to enhance collective resilience. The engagement provides an avenue for participating countries to harmonise approaches to disaster preparedness, emergency response, and recovery efforts, particularly in the face of escalating threats linked to climate change, flooding, and displacement.
Participants are also exploring mechanisms to strengthen collaboration between national disaster management agencies, ECOWAS institutions, and international development partners. Key areas of focus include improving data sharing systems, advancing capacity building initiatives, and fostering coordinated response mechanisms that can be rapidly deployed across borders during emergencies.
A major highlight of the consultation is the development of practical tools and guidelines aimed at translating hydrometeorological forecasts and early warning signals into timely anticipatory actions at both national and community levels. This approach is expected to significantly reduce disaster risks by enabling proactive interventions rather than reactive responses.
The forum underscores the growing recognition among West African nations of the need for a unified and intelligence-driven disaster management architecture capable of mitigating the impact of natural hazards and humanitarian emergencies. For Nigeria, participation in the consultation reinforces its commitment to regional cooperation and knowledge exchange in building a more resilient disaster response system.
The outcome of the meeting is expected to strengthen policy coordination across ECOWAS countries while equipping national agencies with actionable frameworks to better protect lives, livelihoods, and critical infrastructure in the face of evolving environmental and humanitarian challenges.
