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Tag: NEMA

  • Safety of mother, child in emergency

    Safety of mother, child in emergency

    “I remember hearing gunshots and feeling afraid. I ran to save my life and that of my six children, but I was not fast enough… I lost my baby… but I had to remain strong for the others…”, recounts Zainab (not real name) rescued from the Sambisa forest.

    “We are looking for your men. Do not run,” she remembers the gunmen saying when her village was stormed, leading to abduction of women and children. Another survivor, a pregnant Fatima (not real name) watched Boko Haram militants murder her husband and drag her three children away. Afterward, she was taken to the Sambisa Forest and ended up giving birth in the forest. She and her newborn were later rescued.

    The above tales of horror orchestrated by Boko Haram insurgents at the peak of their acts of terrorism in North-East Nigeria has been strongly condemned by the internal community including the United Nations (UN).

    The plain truth, yet a sad commentary, is that at the receiving end of the humanitarian crises arising from insurgency are women and children. The number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and the refugees kept growing.

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the UN system in Nigeria put the total number of IDPs at 1,235,294 while 2,120 refugees and asylum seekers were registered as of 17 January 2015.

    According to Assessment Capacities Project, Start Network (ACAPS), the majority of IDPs are in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, in the far northeast, but 47,276 IDPs are in Plateau, Nasarawa, Abuja, Kano, and Kaduna states.

    However, the magnitude and severity of needs remain more pressing in the northeast, where humanitarian emergency thresholds have been exceeded and access was for a long time extremely challenging.

    Thus, it is no longer news that hundreds of women and children were abducted and held in locations hitherto held by the insurgents, including the dreaded Sambisa forest. It is also not news that hundreds of women and children have been rescued and are still being rescued by the military.

    That a number of the women and girls rescued were very traumatised and found to be pregnant is also in the public sphere. However, that every pregnancy, regardless of circumstances leading to it, must be safe and delivered is the issue for the front burner of public discourse.

    No doubt, the women and girls have gone through hell in the hands of their abductors. Their rights have been infringed upon; they have been brutalised and abused; and many have lost their lives in the process. The lucky ones that are still alive are back and still far away from returning to their normal self. They, obviously, need all kinds of support: foods, non-foods, dignity kits, health support, education, livelihood, among others.

    Furthermore, every time there is a humanitarian emergency, the actors in the humanitarian field are quick to rush and repeatedly provide food and non-food items to the displaced population.

    Of course, that reinforces the African proverb that says, ‘If you resolve the challenges of feeding in the life of a poor man, then he is no longer poor.’ But over time, the reality of other equally critical needs set in. The pregnant women, the lactating mothers, women of reproductive age and the children have to be catered for specially.

    The United Nations through its specialised Agencies, Programmes and Funds and the government, with the benefit of hindsight, always anticipates this and in all cases, factors such into its response plans.

    The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) being the lead Agency of the UN in the area of Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) is committed to delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every child birth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. Its mandate was determined by United Nations Members, including Nigeria.

    Indeed, Nigeria is one of the countries whose 1965 appeal to the UN ultimately inspired the creation of UNFPA a few years later.

    UNFPA in Nigeria is committed to save lives, restore dignity and rebuild broken lives of vulnerable women and girls.

    Within the context of the insurgency in the North-East and its humanitarian challenges especially as they affect women and children, UNFPA is addressing gender-based violence in humanitarian settings through a wide range of services, including counselling, post-rape treatment, legal support, assistance with livelihoods, and support through its Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) programs.

    Working with and through the government of Nigeria including in the states, UNFPA interventions in 2014 alone supported more than 16,000 safe deliveries in North East Nigeria; reached about 2.6 million women and girls with SRH services including for Gender Based Violence (GBV) management in North East Nigeria; and supported provision of modern family planning services to an estimated 2 million women and Couple Year Protection of 2.2million countrywide.

    It is gladdening to note that through its interventions and support, about two thousand maternal deaths were averted country wide while another one thousand free fistula treatment surgeries were supported with 97% success rate across the country.

    Explaining the SRH support to the rescued girls and women, the Director and Country Representative of UNFPA Nigeria, Ms Rati Ndhlovu, observed that “Upon the arrival of rescued women and children in Malkohi camp in Yola, UNFPA responded immediately by providing reproductive health care and psychosocial counselling to survivors of violence.

    “Women and girls who survive unimaginable trauma of captivity and brutalizing violence need immediate and compassionate care and UNFPA has been, as always, determined to ensure that they are given everything they need to be able to heal with dignity, safety and a restored sense of self-worth. After a few weeks of counselling, there was marked improvement in the survivors.”

    Restoring the livelihood and normal lifestyle of the rescued women and children and those that are displaced by the insurgency and military operations is the issue on the front burner of the UN system in the country.

    Of particular importance is ensuring that women can deliver babies safely and that they and girls can maintain their health, dignity, rights and self-worth even in the most challenging situations.

    “Our efforts”, Ms Ndlovu added, “are focused on supporting women and girls to restore their lives as quickly as possible and begin the process of healing to be able to fulfill their potential and once again resume productive lives.”

  • NEMA feeds 2,000 Hausa in Ekiti

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has opened a rehabilitation camp to feed over 2000 displaced Hausa in Ekiti State.

    The agency set up the camp at Shasha, on the outskirts of Ikere-Ekiti, where the displaced persons were relocated to prevent further clashes between them and commercial drivers.

    Apart from feeding the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), NEMA has also provided them with relief materials.

    In a statement yesterday by NEMA Head of Ekiti Operations, Saheed Akiode, the agency said the relief materials had been distributed directly to the IDPs in collaboration with the Chairman of Hausa Community, Adamu Imam.

    While appealing for calm at the camp, Akiode said the Federal Government cares about the victims and would do everything to improve their conditions on camp.

    “The NEMA Ekiti Operations  Office moved swiftly to assess the situation on Friday and immediately came in to the rescue of the displaced persons being camped at Shasha market.

    “ NEMA provided them with beddings, household materials, food stuffs,  toiletries and other forms of requisite logistical support to make the camp habitable.

    “Since the beginning of the rehabilitation support at the camp, NEMA officials have been on ground providing three square meals to the displaced persons, including women and children.”

     

     

  • NEMA begins integration of 4,000 Nigerian returnees from Niger Republic

    NEMA begins integration of 4,000 Nigerian returnees from Niger Republic

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) yesterday said it had commenced the transportation of  about 4,000 repatriated Nigerian refugees from Niger Republic to their home states.

    It made the disclosure following reports of repatriation of about 6,000 Nigerians from the neighbouring country.

    NEMA said the returnees had fled their homes for neighbouring Niger Reoublic at the peak of Boko Haram’s onslaught.

    It said the returnees were being transported from Geidam, Yobe State, where they arrived, to their respective states to meet their families and friends, adding that the transportation of the remaining 2,000 would be completed by Sunday.

    The refugees were chased out of the Lake Chad region and asked to return to their country for security reasons.

    Receiving the returnees, the agency’s Director-General, Muhammad Sani Sidi, who was represented by the Head, Search and Rescue,  Air Commodore Charles Otegbade, said more persons were being expected.

    He said NEMA was also providing basic support, such as food and sleeping materials, to the returnees  at the transit camps in Geidam, adding that security and medical support for the sick were being facilitated.

    He said two pregnant women with signs of labour were immediately rushed to the Yobe State General Hospital in the town where qualified medical personnel were now attending to them.

    Otegbade said the returnees were being profiled before transported, adding that most of them were fishermen from Taraba, Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto,  Kano, Borno, Benue and Yobe states.

    According to a statement by NEMA’s press officer, Manzo Ezekiel, the first batch of the returnees numbering about 400 were transported  in 18 buses from Geidam to Sokoto and Kebbi states.

  • NEMA, UN officials, others visit victims

    NEMA, UN officials, others visit victims

    THE Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mallam Sani Sidi, has visited victims rescued from Sambisa Forest, who are receiving treatment at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Yola.

    He was accompanied by the United Nations Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Dauda Traure, and Adamawa State Deputy Governor Saad MC Tahir.

    Sidi sympathised with the 22 victims who were in critical conditions and donated drugs for their treatments.

    The FMC officials, led by Prof Auwal Abubakar, who received the drugs, said nine of the victims were in serious conditions.

    The medical team said the patients have been operated upon because of wounds from bullets and bomb blasts, adding they were responding to treatments.

    The NEMA and UN delegation also visited the Malkohi camp, where the NEMA DG also donated drugs.

    He urged the Sambisa returnees to remain calm as the Federal Government was determined to salvage their situation through adequate feeding and treatment.

    Sidi told the 275 women and children that NEMA had contracted tailors to sow clothes for them.

    He said the Federal Government required assistance from people around the world to take care of the Internally Displaced Persons in all the 4,000 camps in the country.

     The UN Coordinator directed United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to begin sanitation exercise at the Malkohi camp because of the open defecation by children to avoid an outbreak of diseases.

    He assured the victims that the UN would do everything possible to ensure that they were resettled after fully recovering from the trauma of been kidnapped and tortured by Boko Haram.

  • Army hands over 275 rescued women, children to NEMA

    Army hands over 275 rescued women, children to NEMA

    The Army’s 23 Armoured Brigade based in Yola, Adamawa State, handed over 275 rescued women and children from Sambisa Forest to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for rehabilitation.

    The rescued women and children, traumatised and malnourished by their ordeal, were immediately taken to Malkohi IDP camp in Yola for profiling and were provided with food, mattresses, blankets, mosquito nets, soap and detergents.

    The Commander 23 Armoured Brigade, Col. Aba Popoola, handed them over to NEMA

    Those handed over according to NEMA, are:  ”69 women, 14 girls, 26 male children aged six-12years, 49 male children aged five years, 48 female children aged 0-five years and 69 female aged six-12 years while 21 injured people are on admission at the Federal Medical Centre, Yola.”

    Receiving the rescued people, the Director-General of NEMA, Muhammad Sani Sidi, who was represented by Director Search and Rescue, Air Commodore Charles Otegbade, said the women and children needed special attention and that the agency had made arrangements with stakeholders for trauma counseling and other forms of assistance to enable them recover and return to normal life.

  • NIMET, NEMA advocate flood prevention and mitigation

    NIMET, NEMA advocate flood prevention and mitigation

    The Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Gombe, Gombe State, have urged Nigerians to heed  early warnings on disasters and emergencies as a way of preventing and mitigating them.

    NIMET Manager Mr. Peter Ibrahim and NEMA’s Head of Operations Alhaji Saidu Minin spoke at a one-day awareness programme on Pre-Flood campaign, towards early warning and early action for stakeholders in Gombe.

    Ibrahim said pre-flood campaigns were to enlighten residents on preventive measures, as well as measures to mitigate such disasters if they occurr.

    “Therefore, I urge all and sundry to take its (NIMET) predictions serious; anticipating floods before they occur allows for precautions to be taken, and people warned so that they can be prepared in advance for flooding conditions,” Ibrahim said.

    Minin said heeding early warnings and early actions were imperative towards preventing and mitigating disasters and emergencies.

    He said the campaign will enable non-governmental organisations, community-based organisations, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders to synergise with other disaster managers in public campaign for flood prevention and mitigation.

    The Northeast zonal Director of the National Environmental Safety Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Abdullahi Aliyu said early warning raises awareness to impending disaster to vulnerable population to enable them respond appropriately and minimise damage.

    Aliyu advised residents to stop dumping refuse in drainage channels, enforce environmental laws, ensure appropriate management of dams, among others, to prevent flood.

  • NEMA resumes weekly intervention in Borno IDP camps

    NEMA resumes weekly intervention in Borno IDP camps

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said yesterday that it had resumed weekly supply of relief materials to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Borno, following the successful conduct of the 2015 general polls.

    Alhaji Mohammed Kanar, the NEMA North East Coordinator, stated this at the end of a stakeholders meeting in Maiduguri.

    Kanar explained that the agency had suspended its operations during the polls to avoid politicisation.

    “We had to stay back for a while, because a number of polling units were located at the camps.

    “We do not want to be involved in the politics at the camps during the elections,” he said.

    Kanar said that although NEMA continued to provide essential materials at the camp even during the polls without any noise.

    “Although we rushed in to provide some materials at the Lamisla Primary School to the IDPs from Northern Borno who were displaced few days to the election.

    “We felt that the best thing was to suspend large scale distribution of relief materials to avoid politicisation,’’ he said.

    But Kanar noted that with the elections over, the agency had mobilised to the camps to continue its intervention.

    “Last week we presented trailer loads of food and non-food materials to IDP camps in Dalori, the NYSC camp, among others.

    “We have just received 10 new tents from the head office for onward distribution to some IDP camps like the Federal Training Centre Dalori where the rescued Bama residents are being kept,” he said.

    Kanar assured that NEMA would supply mattresses and mats to the camps to take care of new inmates.

  • Army hands over 275 rescued women, children to NEMA

    The 23 Armoured Brigade of the Nigerian Army based in Yola, Adamawa State, has handed over two hundred and seventy five(275) rescued women and children from the insurgents in Sambisa forest to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for rehabilitation.

    In a statement by NEMA, the rescued women and children traumatized and malnourished by their ordeal were immediately taken to Malkohi IDP camp in Yola for profiling and were provided with food, mattresses, blankets, mosquito nets, soap and detergents.

    The Commander 23 Armoured Brigade, Col. Aba Popoola, handed over the 275 rescued women and children from Sambisa forest to NEMA for care and welfare.

    According to the statement, “Statistically, the rescued women and children comprised of 69 women, 14 girls, 26 male children aged 6-12years, 49 male children aged 5years, 48 female children aged 0-5years and 69 female aged 6-12years, while 21 injured people are on admission at the Federal Medical Centre, Yola.”

    Receiving the rescued people, the Director General of NEMA, Muhammad Sani Sidi, who was represented by Director Search and Rescue, Air Commodore Charles Otegbade, said the women and children need special attention.
    He said the agency had made all the necessary arrangements with relevant stakeholders for trauma counseling and other forms of assistance to enable them recover and return to normal life.

  • NEMA, military, other‎s plan ahead of elections

    As the 2015 forthcoming general election is fast approaching, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has assembled major stakeholders to map out blueprint  towards a violence free election exercise in the country.‎
    The present reality and the tension that has so far emanated from the electioneering campaign activities between the political parties that are competing claims to the highest position, the presidency indeed has convincingly suggest the dire need to brace up our collective preparedness towards managing all forms of possible crisis/violence and the likely displacement of innocent Nigerians that could arise from the electoral contest.
    In view of this, NEMA has organized 5-day Simulation exercise on Electoral violence, tagged “INGANTACHEN TSARO” held at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC) Jaji, Kaduna.
    The Director General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Sani Sidi who was represented by the agency’s Director of Training Engr. Daniel Gambo at the opening ceremony of the exercise said “the idea is to sharpen responder’s level of preparedness to sharpen their skills to civil crisis whenever the need arises. It involved officials of rescue agencies, the Military, and paramilitary”.
    Also speaking,  the Commandant, AFCSC Jaji, Air Vice Marshall John Ifemeje said the exercise was to train the participants on the planning, preparations and conduct of operations aimed at
    restoring normalcy during elections.
    He however urged the participants to take the training seriously in order to‎ achieve the desired objectives.
  • NEMA donates relief materials to victims

    NEMA donates relief materials to victims

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) yesterday donated relief materials to the victims and families of women and children, who were unconditionally freed by Boko Haram in Yobe State.

    Yobe State government last week assisted the victims with cash and relief materials worth over N20 million in Damaturu, at a ceremony, which marked their reunion with their families.

    The Zonal Coordinator of NEMA in the Northeast,  Mohammed Kanar, said their “intervention is to complement the efforts earlier made by the Yobe State government.”