The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) says corps members remain critical to strengthening grassroots disaster preparedness through emergency response and public awareness initiatives.

The head of the NEMA Operations Office, Kaduna, Halima Suleiman, said this on Friday when she received Efeke Dadaza, the Kaduna State Coordinator of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), on a courtesy visit.

Ms Suleiman said the NYSC Community Development Service (CDS) Group and the Emergency Management Vanguards (EMVs) had continued to support disaster risk reductions across communities in the state.

She said NEMA regularly trained corps members in basic first aid, early warning and other emergency response skills to enable them to serve as first responders whenever disasters occur.

According to her, the partnership with the NYSC has strengthened community resilience by expanding disaster awareness and preparedness at the grassroots.

Earlier, Ms Dadaza, NYSC state coordinator, said the visit was to renew and strengthen the long-standing partnership between the NYSC and NEMA.

She commended the agency’s prompt response to disasters and its sustained mentorship of corps members in disaster risk reduction and mitigation.

Ms Dadaza also appealed to NEMA to support the orientation camp with bunk beds and mattresses to enhance the welfare of corps members and camp officials.

The highlight of the visit was the exchange of publications, including the 2026 seasonal climate prediction/weather outlook and the 2026 NYSC magazine.

(NAN)