On Wednesday (11th October, 2023), ASATTAHIR International Foundation participated in the 2023/2024 emergency preparedness and response contingency plan for Sokoto state. The Foundation was represented by the Founder/Chairman Board of Trustees, Aliyu Sidi Attahiru alongside the project management staff of the Foundation.
The update activity was attended by the various security agencies in the state which comprise of the Nigeria Army, Nigeria Police Force, DSS, Nigeria Air Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps. Also in attendance were: The Federal Fire Service, NEMA, UNICEF, Médecins Sans Frontièrs IOM, GISCOR, the Nigeria Red Cross Society and many other development partners, MDAs and religious bodies.
In his welcome address, the Director General of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) Ukashatu Muhammad, thanked all partners and stakeholders for their participation. Similarly, he noted that the emergency preparedness and response contingency plan was initiated in the state by UNICEF in 2013 and since then the initiative has been sustained and has continued to help the state positively in the prevention and management of disaster.
In his good will message, the Founder and Chairman Board of Trustees of ASATTAHIR International Foundation Aliyu Sidi Attahiru commended the.effort of SEMA, adding that preparedness to disaster is not a matter of choice but an effort that must be deliberately put in place to mitigate it or respond to it when it occurs. He further recalled that in its efforts to unearth the factors causing fire outbreak, the impacts and blueprints for mitigating and responding to future incidences, ASATTAHIR International Foundation conducted a research on fire disaster preparedness and response in Sokoto state. He therefore used the opportunity of this gathering to present the published copy of the research to the Director General of SEMA which has already been disseminated earlier this year.
Commenting on the research publication, the Director Relief and Rehabilitation Mustapha umar commended ASATTAHIR International Foundation for their contribution and impact in the state. He urged other partners to emulate the good work the Foundation is doing in the state.
In the same vein, WASH specialist UNICEF Sokoto field office Mr. Ferdinand Njue noted that UNICEF works with women and children children and it’s by no coincidence that it initiated the emergency preparedness and response contingency plan. This is because when disaster occurs, women and children are at the receiving end. He therefore reiterated UNICEF’s commitment to working with SEMA in ensuring that future incidences of disaster are averted or adequately prepared against.
The forum availed partners and stakeholders the opportunity to update the agency of their planned interventions and cost implications for the 2023/2024 project year to enable the agency to have a harmonized contingency plan and keep track of the activities in the state.
