By Miriam Humbe
Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Prof. Charles Anosike has said that the partnership with CARE Nigeria, a part of CARE USA, will help the agency reach the last mile and other users that would benefit from its weather and climate data.
Professor Anosike said this when he hosted the Country Director of CARE Nigeria, Dr. Hussaini Abdu, and his team in his office in Abuja on Tuesday, 18th February 2025.
Prof Anosike said: “What we do is very critical to preparing the nation for disaster response.
“We have partnerships with the state governors through the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), and other organizations and MDAs through whom we disseminate our weather and climate information.
“Partnering with CARE, a big player in the humanitarian sector globally and in Nigeria will also help us to reach the end users of our weather and climate information in addition to our ongoing efforts.
“We deal with perishable products. Getting the information out to the farmers and other users on time is very important”.
He said that the humanitarian crisis the world is experiencing today is becoming more complex due to the effects of climate change and global conflicts.
Anosike said: “It is important for us to discuss these issues to see how climate-informed decision-making can be integrated into poverty reduction framework.
“This is why we are looking forward to the partnership with CARE Nigeria. There is a need to identify the issues that impact our communities.
“When climate crisis strikes, it displaces communities and causes forced labour and human trafficking.
“These exacerbate the challenges that we already have.
“How we integrate weather and climate information for better decision making is very critical for sustainable development”.
Dr. Abdu thanked Prof. Anosike for the opportunity to bring the CARE Nigeria team to NiMet to discuss areas of partnership.
He said: “CARE Nigeria is the country office of CARE USA which was established in 1945.
“The organization was established to support people who are going through a major crisis. It works in over 120 countries including Nigeria.
“CARE Nigeria was established in 2017 initially to respond to the situation in the Northeast but has now expanded its interventions to two major mandate areas.
“One is to continue our humanitarian response in the Northeast and other parts of the country.
“The second is to deepen our development programs”.
Dr. Abdu said that Climate Change has become a major concern as it is also creating humanitarian crises as seen in Nigeria’s Northeast.
He said: “We recognize how important NiMet is, and the work it does. We also work with small holder farmers and remain committed to climate-smart agriculture.
“We welcome the idea of partnering with NiMet because the agency is helping to sustain the work that organizations like ours are doing.
“Through this partnership, we would be elevating climate-related conversation in the country and also be able to advocate for more climate-friendly public policies”.
Both organizations agreed to formalize the proposed partnership by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU).
