World Humanitarian Day: NEMA solicits protection for aid workers

The Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Muhammad Sani Sidi has solicited for support and protection for emergency workers to provide required assistance to people in distress as part of Nigeria’s engagement in the celebration of the 2012 World Humanitarian Day.

Muhammad Sani Sidi remarked that for being neutral and bringing succor in time of distress, the services of emergency workers should be appreciated especially in the face of increasing risk to workers at the ever growing hotspots of disasters and armed conflicts across the world. He stated this in Abuja recently to mark the Nigeria premiere edition of the Humanitarian Day celebration.

The Director General of NEMA revealed that Nigeria is less prone to the natural hazards of volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis, adding there are other causes of emergencies that often result in human displacements and which require concerted efforts towards creation of awareness on effective humanitarian service delivery in the country. ‘This, he said, could be attainable only when emergency workers have the confidence to provide for the needs of the most vulnerable groups in the communities – women, children, the elderly and the physically challenged.

Reflecting on the theme of the 2012 celebration which was “Greening of the Blues”, Sidi said that it was strategically selected in order to raise awareness on the current challenges of climate change. He noted that the need to explore sustainable adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategies to check large – scale disasters such as floods, epidemics, drought desertification and resultant bio-diversity loss and depletion of the genetic pool is inevitable.

Sani Sidi indicated that the World Humanitarian Day has been celebrated on every 19th   day of August after it was adopted by the resolution of the 63rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly in December 2008. He disclosed that the date coincides with the anniversary of the 2003 attack in a hotel in Baghdad where 24 humanitarian operators of the United Nations including its High Commissioner for Human Rights and Special Representative of the Secretary General to Iraq lost their lives.