The perennial flood experienced in riverine communities of Niger State, resulting in the destruction of farmlands, economic trees and houses, has been attributed to communication gap between the authorities and community leaders.

This was disclosed by stakeholders at a two-day training organised by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and partners, for community volunteers and health educators in Minna.

With the theme, ‘Training of Community Facilitators in Emergency Preparedness’, the programme aims at preparing community facilitators for engagements with identified communities that have been impacted or likely to be impacted by flooding, resilience building, retooling to guide their conversations with communities, and prepare them to embrace and use communities’ view in the design, as well as implementation, of support plan among others.

UNICEF Team Lead, Kaduna Field Office, Chinwe Ezeife, hinted that women, children and the elderly were the worst hit during emergencies, particularly in riverine communities, as a result of flooding; hence, the need for UNICEF to bring stakeholders together for brainstorming.

The nutrition specialist regretted that, over the years, communication gap between relevant agencies with communities affected by flooding was responsible for the yearly disaster. She appealed to government at all levels to take proactive measures before the rainy season, to save lives.

According to the Director, Relief and Rehabilitation, Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Salihu Garba, the agency relies on the yearly prediction from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), adding that immediately the agency shares such information, the state swings into action by inviting all stakeholders from the state and local council levels.

“As government agency, we have limitations; there is a channel of information dissemination to communities, which is the local council. We can not ignore the council and pass information straight to the affected communities,” Salihu said.

Participants expressed delight with the opportunity provided them by UNICEF, saying they were well informed. Those that participated in the training, include volunteers, NSEMA local council desk officers, local council health educators and NOA desk officers across the 13 local councils.