Nigerian gov’t scaling up climate change adaptation efforts – Humanitarian Minister

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq said, the Federal government has scaled up measures to solve extreme climate change outcomes in Nigeria.

Farouq made the disclosure at a Side Event at Cop 27 on Wednesday, held in Sharm El Shiek Egypt where world stakeholders are meeting to proffer solutions to mitigate extreme climate changes.

A statement by her special adviser on media Nneka Ikem Anibeze quoted her to have indicated that climate change-induced hydro-meteorological events were causing devastating humanitarian crisis in Nigeria, hence, the urgent need to scale up climate change adaptation efforts.

Continuing she said, “The Nigerian Government through the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development is scaling up climate change adaptation efforts in Nigeria, so as to build community resilience and adaptation practices to mitigate and reduce the consequence of climate change.

“The reason we are here is to harness and discuss good practices, programs and strategies that other countries are using to reduce vulnerabilities of Climate Change. We want to know how to build adaptive capacities and resilience in line with national and international policies and commitments in Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation.

“Specifically, we want to know how to identify and map out climate change risks better and generate political will to implement and finance national adaptation projects, as we harmonize inputs and launch a people-centered climate change adaptation in coordination with key partners like the Ministry of Environment and other relevant MDAs.

“We will work with the Nigerian National Adaptation Plan which seeks to reduce vulnerability of communities to the impacts of climate change by building adaptive capacity and resilience.

“The Plan also advocates the integration of climate change adaptation into relevant new and existing policies, programs and activities as well as in development planning processes and strategies”, the Minister said.

According to her, recent large scale displacements, infrastructural damage and loss of farmlands following extreme flooding have led to disruption of livelihoods, increased risk of hunger as farmers are unable to grow crops.
She said the devastating flood disaster has also heightened fear of the outbreak of malaria, cholera, diarrhea and other waterborne diseases.

Among the panelists who discussed Scaling Up of Climate Change Adaptation Efforts in Nigeria were Amjad Abbashar, Chief of United Nations Office For Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), Regional Office For Africa, Sylvia Wabbes agronomist with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on emergency and resilience for agriculture and food- based livelihoods systems and
Dr. Pasang Dolma Sherpa, Executive Director of Center for Indigenous Peoples’ Research and Development (CIPRED).

Others are Halima Bawa-Bwari, Director Federal Ministry of Environment and Head of Vulnerability & Adaptation Division in the Department of Climate Change and Dr. Abubakar A. Suleiman, Deputy Director, Disaster Management, Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.