COVID-19: Stakeholders brain storm, seek improved humanitarian response

Stakeholders from all walks of life on Monday gathered in Abuja to brainstorm and identify innovative ways to provide humanitarian response in a bid to guarantee a co-ordinated and cohesive approach in addressing humanitarian action during an after pandemic.

At one-day colloquium to review COVID-19 humanitarian response intervention organised by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, participants also discussed and highlighted adjustment as well as development of policies and frameworks as Nigeria navigated the COVID-19 era.

Talking about the import of the various discussions, deputy director humanitarian affairs department, Charles Nwanelu Anelo, said the cardinal essence was to share experiences of actors of various levels and articulate the best practices of lessons learnt in an operational plan for future interventions.

He said, “The federal government is going beyond palliative distribution to build the resilience of people to be able to have a kind of social shock on issues of the pandemic and humanitarian needs as a sustainable way of bringing people out of poverty which is the mantra of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

“To ensure seamless implementation of COVID-19 pandemic strategy, the ministry set up a technical work group with subcommittees on various sectors and thematic areas viz social intervention group, humanitarian intervention, advocacy and sensitisation, and monitoring and evaluation.”

Earlier while declaring the event open, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, represented by the Permanent Secretary Nura Alkali advocated the need for all to work together coherently in a bid to avoid unhealthy practices.

Participants drawn from various government agencies and private sector shared their experiences during and after the peak of the pandemic, just as they proffered solutions for future challenges.

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