To Mitigate Disaster, Contingency Planning Must Be Ongoing Activity – Adeniyi
Following the prediction by Nigerian Meteorological Agency
(NIMET), that high level of flood will occur many States this year, the United
Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF’s officer on emergency,
What can you classify as a hazard and how do you determine
the risk as well as vulnerability?
Hazard is a natural or human-induced event that can
potentially trigger a disaster and examples are: earthquakes, floods, volcanic
eruptions, drought, gully erosion, resource competition and conflict.
What is considered as the risk is the likelihood of a
disaster happening to a particular group of people. The risk can be estimated
by frequency and severity of a hazard when combined with vulnerability and
capacity of people to meet that hazard.
The susceptibility of people and things to be damaged by a
hazard: a person or group’s vulnerability depends on their capacity to
anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from the impact of a hazard.
Can you list types of hazards?
Hazards can be subdivided into two – Rapid onset and slow
onset. Volcano, windstorm and drought are natural disaster, while plane crash,
flood, landslides/ gully erosions, epidemic, famine can be both natural and
human induced disaster. However, terrorist attack, chemical spill or toxic
waste, militancy or war and civil unrest are human induced disaster.
Can you list the emergency response mechanisms institutions
in Nigeria?
The emergency response mechanisms in Nigeria include:
National Emergency Relief Agency (NERA) which was established by Decree No 48
of 1976. In 1993, NERAs mandate expanded to accommodate disaster management
(Decree no 119 amended)
The National Conference on Disaster and Crisis Management in
1997, while National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) was established by
Decree No 12 of 1999.
In 2001, the First National Disaster Response Plan was
developed, while National Search and Rescue (SAR) and Epidemic Evacuation Plan
(EEP) took place in 2008.
National Disaster Management Framework (NDMF) was developed
in 2010.
Who are the emergency response mechanisms stakeholders in
Nigeria?
The stakeholders of emergency response mechanisms are:
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA); State Emergency Management
Agencies (SEMAs); Local Emergency Management Committees (LEMCs); National
Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC); the Federal and state fire services
Others are: Civil –Military Relations Unit (FMoD); National
Commission for Refugees; Federal Road Safety Commission; Epidemiology and
Disease Surveillance Unit (FMoH) and Special Climate Change Unit (FMoEv).
The humanitarian actors are the Nigerian Red Cross Society;
Médecins Sans Frontières; Catholic Relief Services/National Caritas; Hamadiya
Muslim Mission; International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies; Save the Children (UK); Water-aid (UK) and Oxfam(UK). The rest are:
ECOWAS; Action Against Hunger; United Nations agencies and donor countries like
Japan, Denmark etc.
What is contingency planning?
Contingency planning is a tool to anticipate and solve
problems that typically arise during humanitarian response.
There are three levels in disaster management planning
including Institutional Plans, Disaster Response Plans, Contingency Plans and
SOPs.
Contingency planning are based on specific events or known
risks at local, national, regional or even global levels (e.g. earthquakes,
floods or disease outbreaks), and establish operational procedures for
response, based on anticipated resource requirements and capacity.
It involves analysing potential emergencies, for example;
due to meteorological predictions, many parts of the country is at risk of
large scale flooding this year.
It also analyses potential impact. For instance; Up to
800,000 people may be displaced from their homes and 50 per cent of domestic
crop production would be wiped out.
Contingency planning establishes clear objectives and
strategies, for example: Maintaining people on their land and in their homes or
moving them to a safe terrain as well as protecting the most fertile crop
lands.
Contingency planning implements preparedness actions. It
raises public awareness of preventive measures; distribute emergency supplies
in high risk areas and create water diversion channels.
Walk the audience through the phases of contingency
planning. The animation gives a simple example of contingency planning.
Why contingency plan?
There are many good reasons why contingency plan should be
developed.
Contingency plan should be developed to deal with anticipated
problems before the onset of a crisis and put in place measures that enhance
preparedness.
Contingency plan should be developed to establish
relationships with partners; develop shared understanding of common challenges;
clarify roles and responsibilities and strengthen coordination mechanisms.
Developing contingency plan helps to identify constraints to
effective response actions and focus on operational issues.
Who do you involve in contingency plan?
Contingency planning should involve relevant stakeholders,
communities, local, State, national, international levels and the United
Nations (UN).
When is it ideal to plan and where should contingency focus?
Contingency planning (CP) is an ongoing activity and it
should be updated regularly to ensure relevance.
Unlike response planning that is for a range of threats or
hazards, CP is for specific emerging or anticipated disaster event. Contingency
plans should target communities, local, State, national, international levels
and the UN.
What are the steps for developing contingency plan?
This should include: Hazard identification and risk
analysis; summary of the hazards and impact on geographical areas; scenarios
and planning assumptions.
Developing contingency plan should also include: Brief summary
of agreed scenarios and planning assumptions that define the parameters of the
contingency plan; humanitarian needs that is number of people, capacities,
operational constraints.
Developing contingency plan should take into consideration
of early warning/triggers.It should also identify potential early warning (EW)
signs that can result into proposed scenarios.
What are the qualities of a good contingency plan?
A good contingency plan should: Be comprehensive, but not
too detailed; find a balance between flexibility and concrete plans
A good contingency plan should also provide guidance and
direction on the intention of agencies and how to proceed; be well-structured,
easy to read, and easy to update.
A good contingency plan should serve as layout of what will
be done, by whom and by when.
Can you summarise the major highlights of a good contingency
plan?
A good contingency plan identifies and analyses potential
emergencies (threats) and their humanitarian impact and prioritises potential
emergencies according to risk.
It develops appropriate contingencies, including
establishing goals, setting objectives, policies and procedures to deal with
prioritised potential emergencies.
Agood contingency plan ensures necessary preparedness
measures and that follow-up actions are taken, including training, exercises,
regular reviews and update.
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