The Katsina government and Plan International Nigeria are developing an anticipatory action framework to reduce disaster risks and strengthen food security.

The organisation’s state coordinator, Emanuel Nuhu, disclosed this at a stakeholders’ workshop in Katsina on Wednesday.

Mr Nuhu said the initiative would help the state shift from relying mainly on emergency response to taking timely action before predicted hazards developed into humanitarian crises.

He said Katsina was exposed to interconnected hazards, including flooding, drought, extreme heat, windstorms, disease outbreaks, crop pests and other climate-related shocks.

According to him, the hazards could disrupt livelihoods, food and nutrition security, water and health services, education, protection and critical infrastructure, with children, women, girls and persons with disabilities among the most vulnerable.

Mr Nuhu said the proposed state-owned, multi-hazard framework would establish practical arrangements to monitor risks, activate early actions, coordinate implementation and mobilise financing.

“The ambition is to move from knowing that a hazard is coming to being ready to act when there is still time to reduce its impact,” he said.

He explained that the framework would translate risk information, forecasts and local knowledge into clear triggers, pre-agreed actions, defined responsibilities and coordinated interventions before a crisis escalated.

He said participants would identify major hazards, high-risk locations and vulnerable populations while developing hazard-specific triggers and timely, evidence-based and conflict-sensitive actions.

Mr Nuhu added that the framework would serve as a practical decision-support tool, clarifying when to act, who should activate it, what to do, and how interventions should be financed, delivered and monitored.

He said the process would draw on historical disaster data, seasonal forecasts, early-warning information, government risk assessments, community knowledge and existing emergency preparedness plans.

Mr Nuhu said the workshop was expected to produce a draft Anticipatory Action Framework and a roadmap for its technical review, validation, approval and operationalisation.

He reaffirmed Plan International Nigeria’s commitment to working with the government and other partners to strengthen systems that protect children and young people, particularly girls, from climate and humanitarian shocks.

“Acting earlier can reduce the severity of impacts and strengthen preparedness while maintaining the capacity to respond when emergencies occur,” he said.

Also speaking, the director in the Katsina State Ministry of Environment, Abubakar Kankia, said the government was ready to partner with NGOs and development partners to address banditry, kidnapping, flooding, drought and disease outbreaks.

Similarly, Rabi Yusuf of the Katsina State Ministry of Health described the initiative as timely, saying relevant ministries were already working to support its implementation, with provisions captured in the state budget.

The workshop brought together representatives of government ministries, emergency management institutions, technical agencies, humanitarian and development organisations, civil society groups and communities.

Others included representatives of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, traditional and religious leaders, women and youth groups, organisations of persons with disabilities, academia and the media.

(NAN)