The Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Prof. Charles Anosike, says the partnership with CARE Nigeria, part of CARE USA, will help the agency reach the last mile and other users that would benefit from its weather and climate data.
Professor Anosike stated this when he hosted the Country Director of CARE Nigeria, Dr. Hussaini Abdu, and his team in his office in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said, “What we do is critical to preparing the nation for disaster response. We have partnerships with the state governors through the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and other organisations and MDAs through whom we disseminate our weather and climate information. Partnering with CARE, a big player in the global humanitarian sector and Nigeria will also help us reach the end users of our weather and climate information and our ongoing efforts. We deal with perishable products. Getting the information out to the farmers and other users on time”.
He remarked that the humanitarian crisis the world is experiencing today is becoming more complex due to the effects of climate change and global conflicts.
“It is important to discuss these issues to see how climate-informed decision-making can be integrated into the poverty reduction framework. This is why we are looking forward to the partnership with CARE Nigeria. There is a need to identify the issues that impact our communities. When a climate crisis strikes, it displaces communities and causes forced labour and human trafficking. These exacerbate the challenges that we already have. How we integrate weather and climate information for better decision-making is critical for sustainable development”, Prof Anosike concluded.
While speaking, Dr. Abdul thanked Prof. Anosike for the opportunity to bring the CARE Nigeria team to NiMet to discuss areas of partnership.
He stated, “CARE Nigeria is the country office of CARE USA, which was established in 1945. The organisation was established to support people who are going through a major crisis. It works in over 120 countries, including Nigeria. CARE Nigeria was established in 2017 initially to respond to the situation in the Northeast but has now expanded its interventions to two major mandate areas. One is to continue our humanitarian response in the Northeast and other parts of the country. The second is to deepen our development programs”.
Dr Abdu said climate change has become a significant concern as it also creates humanitarian crises, as seen in Nigeria’s Northeast.
