South-East NEMA trains 500 NYSC Emergency Management Vanguards
The National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, South-East zone has concluded the training of 500 members of the National Youths Service Corps, NYSC, tagged: Emergency
Management Vanguards (EMV) in various orientation camps.
Dr. Abdulahi Onimode, the South-East coordinator of NEMA, who disclosed this on Wednesday in Enugu said, “NEMA/NYSC Emergency Management Vanguard Project is an initiative of the National Emergency Management Agency aimed at using NYSC Corps members as vanguards for a uniform Proactive Disaster Management nation-wide.
“This national disaster management effort is with the overall aim of ensuring the reduction of disaster risks, enhancing socio-economic and environmental well being of the rural populace”.
The NEMA coordinator further explained that the programme affords the organization “the opportunity to present the Director General’s address, recruit, train and kit corps volunteers, who in turn collaborate with State Emergency Management Agencies, Local Government Emergency Committees and other stakeholders to carry out disaster management activities in various localities during the service year”.
He stated that the programme ran simultaneously in the South-Eastern States of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo, between 20th-24th, March, 2014 at the Permanent NYSC Orientation Camps.
Dr. Onimode noted that Nigeria has designed and implemented various approaches geared towards effective and efficient curtailment/management of disasters, adding that such moves were in response to the increase and frequency in disaster incidence and emergencies in the country, especially in recent times.
“Going by the paradigm shift from response to disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness and in its quest for effectiveness in disaster management, NEMA, has established various disaster management structures.
“Such structures include Grass-roots Emergency Volunteer Corps at the Community level, Disaster Risk Reduction Clubs in Secondary Schools, Executive Emergency Management clubs for Civil Servants and professionals”, he added.
During the programme, volunteer corps members were given lectures on
Disaster Risk Management, Basic First Aid, the role of Corps members in disaster management, fire drills (causes, prevention and effects of fire disasters), incident reporting, early warning signs and Risk reduction, effective and response to multi-hazard emergencies.
