B/Haram: Northeast intervention forum provides solutions

The North-East Humanitarian MultiStakeholder Engagement at the end of a meeting held in Maiduguri, Borno State, came up with solutions towards rebuilding and rehabilitating the Northeast region.

The two-day meeting which was declared open by the Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has discussed on the rebuilding process of the NorthEast region.

In a communiqué jointly signed by representatives of the Office of the Vice-President, the international and local NGOs, government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as security agencies, the forum agreed that coordination of humanitarian efforts by the lead government agencies need to be developed to fit into the overall coordination mechanism of the country.

The stakeholders opined that State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs) and LEMCs are not as effective and visible in some states during emergencies and need to be strengthened to work better.

They also harped on the need for better management of communication in emergency situations, just as they recommended the need for regulations as well as standards for Monitoring, Evaluating and transparency.

The communiqué read: “National Planning Commission (NPC) is the point of entry for International NGOs and the United Nations system while NEMA and SEMA are entry points for local humanitarian actors.

“There are frameworks for cooperation of relevant stakeholders which needs to be strengthened. The needs of the country have to be harmonized with individual organisations’ operational plan while the regulation of National and International Non-Governmental Organizations is carried out by National Planning Commission and NEMA,” the communiqué said.

The Vice President Yemi Osinbajo commended the stakeholders for their efforts at proffering solutions to the humanitarian crisis being faced by displaced persons in the North-East.

The meeting with the theme: “Coordination, Communication and Cooperation” was held at the behest of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA in collaboration with the Office of the Vice President and Borno State Government.