A one-day advocacy training and civic engagement for members of flood-affected communities in Anambra State, has re-echoed the advocacy championed by the Barr. Chika Rita Okwuosa Foundation, BCROF, for the review of the Anambra State Emergency Management, ANSEMA Law, to accommodate a budget line for flood disaster mitigation activities in the state.
The training put together by BCROF, in collaboration with SafePath Alliance for Women and Girls, a local women’s rights organization that works on climate change and gender issues, with the support of Rise UP, took place on Tuesday in Awka, Anambra State Capital.
As it stands today, the State Government still depends on donor agencies, the federal government and other public-spirited individuals to provide palliatives for people of the seven local governments in the state affected by flood.
BCROF and its partners believe that there should be a budget line in the ANSEMA Law, that will cater to flood mitigation efforts, with inclusion of Rehabilitation and Empowerment Programmes for Women and Girls, who are most vulnerable in the event of flooding.
The facilitator of the program, Nkechi Odunukwe, a lawyer and gender equality specialist, said the flooding challenge, having become a perennial issue, requires the state to be more proactive in dealing with issues around it, as the people can no longer continue with the current makeshift measures.
Odunukwe, who is the Director and Lead Facilitator, of SafePath Alliance for Women and Girls, said the BCROF working with her organization, has discovered that when a flood hits, the most vulnerable are the women and the children, particularly pregnant women, adolescent girls, young women, nursing mothers and Persons with Disability.
“This is why we believe that it is very important that the ANSEMA Law should be reviewed.
“We also found out that ANSEMA is not able to do as much as it should do because it doesn’t have the law that supports the government to create a budget line for flooding.
“So, we feel the only way to achieve that is to begin to advocate to critical stakeholders such as the legislature and the executive and others so that there can be a review of the ANSEMA Law to create budget for flooding in the seven of the LGAs most impacted by flood.
“We also think that there needs to be a clear-cut budget line within the ANSEMA law that clearly tackles the issue of empowering women and girls because they are the most vulnerable when the flood comes.
“We feel there should be a way of empowering them because there are so many things they are battling,” she said.
Discussing on the need to deploy advocacy to get the government to do the right things by the flood-affected communities, Odunukwe harped on the need for thorough research and analysis of the problems, and for them to be united, so that their voices can make impact.
The Program Manager for the BCROF, Mrs Anasthesia Ezeolisa, who noted that since 2012, flood had affected many parts of the state, with many losing properties and even lives, said the foundation came about out of empathy over what the people are going through.
She explained that the founder, Sir Dozie Okwuosa floated the foundation in the loving memory of his daughter, to immortalize her by supporting people suffering.
“Barr Chika Rita Okwuosa had the passion of helping the less privileged, the indigent and the vulnerable, but along the line, she died at a very young age.
“So, the parents want to advance her dream using this Foundation.
“The Foundation was initially self-funded before we began to attract funding.
“With this campaign, we are not saying that the state government is not trying. Yes, they are trying, but their intervention is based on palliatives.
“So, we are saying that they should streamline the support to these sufferers of annual flood by reviewing the ANSEMA Law, to have a more impactful intervention. If there is a budget line, the mitigation efforts will be more fruitful and impactful,” she posited.
In their separate remarks, the Project Officer with the BCROF, Chike Ndubuisi and the Communications Officer, Uyanne Francis Esmai said if the review of the ANSEMA law to accommodate a budget is achieved, it will entrench a structured intervention for the people, giving them some sense of belonging.
According to them, depending on donor agencies and the federal government to provide palliatives for the flood-affected communities, is no more working.