Adeniyi Olugbemi, Sokoto

A Non-Governmental Organization, NGO, Christian Aid, has enhanced the capacity of journalists on the qualities and components on Disaster Risk Reduction, DRR.

At a 2-day training held for selected journalists in Sokoto, with the theme “Media Capacity Strengthening on Disaster Risk and Social Safety, DRaSS, participants were taken through roles of the media before, during and after the occurrence of a disaster.

Declaring the training open, Christian Aid Country Director, Temitope Fashola, emphasized that journalists need to understand and disseminate critical information to safe lives during disaster, hence the training.

He posited that, many lives have been lost because people do not have the right information or take the right actions when disaster occurs.

Christian Aid, Senior Programme Coordinator – Disaster Management and Peace Building, Dr Fagbite Bamidele, remarked that, the organization between 2018 to 2020, covered and record successes in disaster risk reduction accros Kaduna, Plateau and Benue states.

“Since August last year, we have been in Sokoto and Kaduna states, in consortium with COOPI. Our project focus in Sokoto, is on two flood disaster proned local government areas of Goronyo (Kwawaso and Goronyo communities) and Rabah (Gandi and Rabah communities.)

“Our project is put together with the element of social protection. While Christian Aid handle Disaster Risk Reduction, COOPI handles social protection element.”

The lead facilitator, George Ndukwu, from Institute of Strategic Development Communication, dwell extensively on how to mitigate disaster and it management when it occurs, through the four components of DRR, namely mitigation, preparation, response and recovery.

George emphasize that media roles should be people centred approach, emphatic, reflect gender dimensions, avoid conflict of interest and adhere to humanitarian journalism.

Participants were also taken through the rudiments of Community engagement, Strategies for increasing journalists’ access to information, News gathering/reporting skills and ethical/safety issues in Disaster Risk and Social Safety, DRaSS, reporting.

Other facilitators at the two-day event are veteran investigative journalist, Aminu Mohammed and Adebola Adeeko, Programme Officers, Communications, Christian Aid.