The World Health Organisation (WHO) is set to help Nigeria deal with the health challenges that have trailed the recent flooding in different states of the country.
Director of the Emergency Risk Management and humanitarian response section of WHO, Dr Brennan Richard said there is need to assess and jointly tackle the immediate, medium and long term health impacts of the flooding to avoid crises in the future.
Rising from a meeting with the director-general of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Sani Sidi, Dr Richard said a thorough assessment is on-going and the results will be utilized in rendering the needed assistance to Nigerians that have been affected.
NEMA as well declared its preparedness to undertake the task urgently.
Meanwhile, NEMA’s DG has made clear the urgent need to equip emergency response organisations in the country more adequately, especially now that disaster challenges are on the rise in the country.
Alhaji Sidi made this known during the handover of a mobile intensive care unit ambulance to the Nigerian Red Cross society, where he noted that “Nigeria more than ever before needs effective management of disasters by all first response agencies.”
He said timely and critical emergency response can only happen with adequate equipment and strong collaboration, the sort which the Nigeria Red Cross society pledges to give with the appropriate support and equipment.