Relief centre aids NEMA with monitoring, equipment

The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KS Relief) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Monday, donated a real-time monitoring and communication equipment to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event also witnessed the signing of agreement for the implementation of food assistance project to the people affected by insurgency in Borno State.

Mr Mustapha Ahmed, Director-General, NEMA, while commissioning the equipment with delegates from the centre, said that the equipment would promote early response and facilitate deployment of life-saving human and material resources, during disasters.

He said that the with audio-visual communication equipment, NEMA operatives deployed to the field would be able to send real time feedback to the agency’s emergency coordination centre.

Ahmed who appreciated the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for their continuous support to persons affected by humanitarian crisis in the country, added that the KS Relief Centre has proposed to donate 16,000 food baskets of relief materials to Borno.

“There is no doubt that current flood disaster that has affected the entire federation of Nigeria has tested the wits of emergency responders and has brought to fore the importance of international collaboration on emergency service delivery in the country.

“Let me say that, the KS Relief Centre has been very benevolent to Nigeria and has been a reliable ally, our partnership dates back to 2018.

“Between 2018 and 2021, the centre donated relief items to Internally Displaced Persons in Borno, Yobe and Zamfara.

“Furthermore, in 2021, KS Relief graciously upgraded the NEMA Contact Centre which was commissioned on the Aug. 13, 2021 at the NEMA Headquarters, Abuja.

“The Phase II of the project, which involves the provision of equipment for real-time monitoring and communication during emergencies, have also been completed by KS Relief.

“Furthermore, I am delighted to announce that, the KS Relief has proposed to donate 16,000 food baskets of relief materials to Borno for another two cycles of intervention to be distributed directly in IDP camps in the state in collaboration with SEMA and other partners,” he said.

On his part, Mr Abdulharim Alyousef, Team Leader, KS Relief Centre, said that the provision of the communication equipment would facilitate the communication between NEMA and its field offices.

He added that the equipment would also help the agency coordinate humanitarian response to affected population in the country.(NAN)