UNICEF tasks media practitioners on emergency response

THE United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has urged the media to emphasise emergency response and preparedness in the country as experience demonstrates that predicated hazards could be avoided with hindsight.UNICEF Communications Chief (Media and External Relations), Lone Hvass, told The Guardian at Owerri on media dialogue on emergencies in Nigeria that 'We (UNICEF) have to nudge the media, we have to stimulate journalists to report on emergencies'.She said though there was a gap in media reportage of emergencies in Nigeria, the media could improve by tasking itself on questions of performance output like: 'Are we getting better or worse'' So, the media can report on themselves, on the respondents, whether state, national, government or agencies.Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, UNICEF, Nigeria, Olusoji Adeniyi, also stressed on emergencies as unplanned suddenness of occurrence, adding: 'It is not sufficient to simply say there's been a disaster. If we think preparedness simply means government stockpiling, what about the preparedness of individuals at the home level''The tips need to come both from the media and the individuals and that's the time we will be able to help the government achieve its objectives'.According to Adeniyi, UNICEF's approach to emergency response includes to conduct a rapid assessment preferably within 72 hours as the likelihood of a disaster includes the vulnerability and capacity of the people.He said in preparedness for emergency, it is important to embark on emergency profiling and risk mapping, vulnerability and capacity, assessment and analysis, contingency planning, pre-positioning of emergency supplies, capacity building for National and State Emergency Management Agencies and the media.The Communications Officer, Geoffry Njoku, listed the challenges of emergency response in the country to include poor co-ordination, political obstacles, lack of credible data, 'relief agency syndrome', lack of legislatedstate emergency management agencies.
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