The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in partnership with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other stakeholders, has commenced a multi-day training to strengthen emergency preparedness, community engagement and coordinated response across seven states in northern Nigeria. The training, held in Gombe, brings together emergency preparedness and response actors from Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Plateau, Taraba and Yobe States with participants across agencies include NEMA, UNICEF, National Disease Control Centre NCDC, Ministries of information among others. “We need different sectors to come together for humanitarian response,” Khan said, urging state governments, governors and commissioners to provide leadership for effective multi-sectoral coordination. Soyemi said UNICEF’s focus on women and children made effective emergency preparedness essential because crises ultimately affect families and vulnerable populations. She said NOA officers work with NEMA and State Emergency Management Agencies at state and local government levels, making the agency a critical partner in ensuring that emergency information reaches communities.