Human and natural disasters happen to all people irrespective of what part of the world they are situated. Humanitarian agencies have emerged over the years to cushion the impact of these disasters on helpless people affected by it. The United Nations has been in the forefront of supporting government to provide humanitarian aid to people of various nations across the globe that are affected one way or the other by disaster.
The World Humanitarian Day has been earmarked by the UN to celebrate and remember those lost in the line of duty in humanitarian aid and to basically celebrate the spirit of humanitarians. We spoke with the UN coordinator of humanitarian affairs for Nigeria; Miss. Choice Ufoma Okoro, during the UN commemoration of the World Humanitarian Day 2013.She spoke on their modus operandi and challenges faced as an arm of the UN that is responsible for bringing aid to the wounded in terms of conflicts and disasters.
Can we meet you?
My name is Choice Ufuoma Okoro, I am a Nigerian-Canadian and the head of the United Nations office for coordination of humanitarian affairs, OCHA and we support the Nigerian Government, including the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to coordinate humanitarian response in Nigeria. We are based in Abuja but provide assistance through NEMA across the country. My name is very Nigerian as I was born here; left the country when I was a kid, then got posted here to head the unit as a Canadian. I arrived in the country in November and I am here with my son who is twelve.
Your educational background?
I went to school in Canada, I have a masters in media and communications studies and public policies, I worked with the Canadian government for eight years advising the government on civil rights issues - some controversial, some not so controversial, basically mobilizing the civil society and citizens to get engaged in determining civil rights issues. Afterwards I joined the UN where I have been working now for over seven years.
What are the aims and objectives of your agency?
The United Nations office for coordination of humanitarian affairs was established to support governments and the UN system in the area of preventing and advocating for appropriate response to people affected by disasters; including advocating for the rights of communities affected by disasters. You know when populations are affected by disasters we advocate to ensure their rights are met, we advocate for their rights in emergencies to make sure life saving measures are in place when disasters happen. We don’t wait until disasters happen. For years we have been working to put in place systems that will reduce the impact of disaster on populations; first and foremost we believe that the humanitarian thing to do is to prevent emergencies. But emergencies do happen; we are living in a time of climate change where natural disasters happen everywhere. We ensure that when disaster strikes we reduce the suffering of people, we try to save lives. We came on board in Nigeria specifically during the flood time. We have our headquarters in New York and Geneva and we have offices in over forty countries around the world. In July we had our emergency response coordinator overall who visited Nigeria for about four days which was her second visit in two years.
What are the challenges you face in Nigeria?
Nigeria is a very complex country, it is big, it has population of almost two hundred million people and when emergencies happen the impact is always high in terms of numbers affected. We might say just three percent but three percent in Nigeria is almost six million people; that is a huge number so the challenges are working with the government to address impact of disasters. For example we had the2012 flood where over seven million people were affected. It has not been an easy task; that was the worst in forty years. The challenges are working with the government to address the impact of disaster with a population that high. And another challenge is the grinding nutritional challenges in northeastern Nigeria and we are working with the Government to address that issue.
What do you think we can do to minimize man-made disasters like war and conflict?
For the part of the UN I work with, it is a priority to see that in times of conflict we have access to people who suffer. We are neutral. You see humanitarian assistance must be unbiased, neutral and independent. We maintain that so we have access to people who suffer; we are the arm of the UN that does not ask what happens we coordinate response to save lives and reduce human suffering first and foremost. Conflict is manmade and there are lots of actions we can take to have non-violent resolutions to disagreements. Nigeria is suffering from significant conflict related emergencies , we have inter communal conflicts that are basically in the increase in the country, we have them in Plateau state, Nassarawa, in Benue state, it is around the nomadic population and farmers. There is a lot we can do to address them. We need systems that will help negotiate access to shared resources, we are helping government to reduce these conflicts but when they do happen we have to move in to reduce casualty figures and sufferings of women and children.
How do humanitarian agencies face the attacks from terrorists and other disasters?
Yes I have lost colleagues like that, not just terrorist attacks; we lost colleagues in Haiti during the earthquake and not just UN aid workers; everyday lives are lost. To work in international aid you have to have the passion for that and you know our work take us to the disaster and conflict spots of the world.
The UN trains its staff on security measures before sending them to the tough places. And in those sad and rare occasion that we are targeted we think of our safety equally as we worry about the population who may not have access to life saving assistance when we are not able to deliver. So we are constantly working on how best to stay and deliver safely.
I must emphasize here that Nigeria is not amongst the top countries where international humanitarian workers have been attacked. The government of Nigeria has been a very great host to the international humanitarian system and workers in this country.
August 19, the World Humanitarian Day (WHD) is a day we remember aid workers who have passed away in the line of duty. For Nigeria; it is a day to remember those we have lost in the line of duty. Of recent memories are the vaccine workers killed in February this year while providing lifesaving polio vaccination in northern Nigeria and our colleagues who died in the UN House bombing of August 26th 2011.When the UN building was attacked in Nigeria we went back to work, we understood that Nigerians stood up and mourned with us across the country. The Nigerian government is very welcoming and supportive of the UN. In the line of duty lives are lost; this is a challenge we carry in our work.
What is the impression of Nigeria outside Nigeria and what is your own impression?
Nigerians are known around the world for being very confident, they are very positive about life, and in my eight months of having been here I have found it to be so. I step out of my house and no matter how sad I am there is a Nigerian that will pick me up with a can-do attitude. So that’s what I heard having left the country over twenty years and that was what I saw outside. They are very hospitable outside and in Nigeria, they have every reason to throw a party, they are fashionable and very religious. In Abuja everywhere there is a signs of a people who love to worship everywhere. Then the entertainment industry is so big;Nollywood is so big outside Nigeria and Nigerian music is so big too. I am so proud of Nigerian music. What I am so surprised about Nigeria is the issue of electricity. I am so surprised because up till now it’s not been taken care of.
Today is world humanitarian day can you tell us about that?
Ten years ago on August 19th the United Nations office in Baghdad was bombed and twenty two prominent UN staff died in that attack, in 2008, August 19th was made the World Humanitarian Day to remember our colleagues lost in the line of duty in providing humanitarian aid, and it is a day to celebrate the spirit of humanitarianism. We often look at the professional side of it but look at your next door neighbor that comes to your aid in times of crisis; that is the spirit we are celebrating. It is a day to celebrate the spirit of humanitarianism.
Last year we brought Beyoncé in through social media and we reached about a billion people and this year we want to leverage on that. It is a one month program and the theme is “The World Needs More”. Some will say humanity, peace, healthcare; whatever our passion, make it into action. If you say the world needs more peace or love then you visit the website at www.worldhumanitarianday.org and you can make a contribution to humanitarian activities across the world. For me it is all about collaboration. I think no matter what we do we need to work together. Pick a word, be creative and change the world.
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