The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is collaborating with the Nigerian private sector to partner with the Red Cross to improve its preparedness and emergency response to communities that are being impacted by disasters such as climate change through the IFRC’s Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF).

DREF is a fund that is made available by the IFRC to all 192 members of the Red Cross and Crescent around the world to help them respond speedily to save lives and livelihoods of affected communities. As the Red Cross has the mandate to reduce human suffering wherever it may be found, access to the DREF makes it quicker to deliver much humanitarian assistance when needed.

During a one day dialogue, titled ‘Moving Beyond Green: A Dialogue on Accelerated Climate Action’  between the IFRC and the private sector which held recently in Lagos, Mr. Bhupinder Tomar, Head of IFRC delegation Abuja Country Cluster said,

“As we are seeing in Nigerian states such as Kogi, Jigawa, Anambra and other states where we have witnessed higher than usual rainfall this year, the DREF has made it possible for the Nigerian Red Cross branches to anticipate, respond and provide assistance to people who have been displaced by the floods and is empowering the Red Cross to give them much needed care packages that will help them till they are able to find some respite”.

Recognizing that the private sector is an integral partner in the fight against climate change and other disasters, Bhupinder Tomar,appealed to them to invest in mitigating the effects of climate change from CSR and other commercial perspective as the impact of climate change may rob off also on business.

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Speaking further, he noted that Climate change is a slow onset disaster which is upsetting the lives of many people around the world. “In Nigeria, the people who suffer the most from the effects of climate change are often economically and socially disenfranchised making it even more difficult to contend with the impacts of climate change. It is for this reason that the Red Cross is seeking to bolster its relationship with the private sector to make sure that such people do not suffer unduly”.

President, Nigerian Red Cross and Vice President, Africa Region of the IFRC, Elder Bolaji Anani says, “the growing threat of climate change provides the private sector the opportunity to team up with the Red Cross to deliver aid to communities in need and help to reduce the pain and misery that people often experience in disaster situation. The responsibility to respond to the threat and effects of climate change is one that needs a collective approach and one that cannot be left to players in the humanitarian sector alone.”

He emphasized that the Red Cross is always on the ground before, during and after a disaster to ensure that human suffering is minimized and that people that are affected are provided with the support needed to return to normalcy.

Secretary General of the Nigerian Red Cross, Abubakar Kende reiterates that “the Nigerian Red Cross is an 800,000 strong volunteer organization, with volunteers in all of Nigeria’s 774 local government supporting government to provide emergency response to people who need it the most. I hope that the private sector partners who have attended this meeting today will join us to make sure we continue to be present when people need us the most”.

Concurring that the fight against climate action is not what should be left to the IFRC alone, Ifeyinwa Ejindu of Coca-Cola Nigeria noted that climate action is a global concern that requires significant resources and efforts.

“That is why we are convinced that collective action is required to make transformative change. No one company will be able to do it alone. It is complex, dynamic and requires dimensional mitigation and initiatives to properly tackle it”, She explained.

Calling for the need to increase the scale of dialogue to bring in more key stakeholders, Chigozie Ejimogu, Sustainability manager of Verod Capital said they should be made to understand the challenges of climate change and to begin to have a reorientation.

Appreciating IFRC for its anticipatory actions, Ejimogu said awareness of the issue is important and should be intensified by introducing it into Secondary school curriculum so that pupils will be made aware of the challenges at an early stage.

The well attended event, had other Speakers like, Somachi Asoluka, Director Partnership and Communications, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Lolita Ejiofor, General Manager, Abbey Mortgage Bank, Dr. Igazueme Okoroba, Head of Sustainability, Dangote Cement, Temitope of She Farmers Initiative  and the others.