The Benue State Emergency Management Agency (Benue SEMA), in collaboration with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), has convened a strategic stakeholders’ engagement aimed at strengthening Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) systems in the state.
Speaking during the opening session at the SEMA headquarters in Makurdi, the Executive Secretary of Benue SEMA, Dr James Iorpuu, underscored the urgency of building a more responsive and coordinated system to address the state’s growing humanitarian challenges.
He noted that the state continues to grapple with complex and evolving crises, including armed violence, communal conflicts, and recurring displacement, which have continued to expose vulnerable populations to heightened protection risks.
According to him, while early warning mechanisms exist, their effectiveness has been undermined by fragmentation, weak coordination, and gaps in information flow and response activation.
“Early warning is only meaningful when it leads to early and effective response. This engagement comes at a critical time as we work to bridge existing gaps and strengthen our collective response capacity”.
Dr Iorpuu highlighted that the engagement marks a significant step toward establishing a more robust, government-led Early Warning–Early Response framework in Benue State.
He revealed that a key outcome of the initiative is the introduction of the PROTECT tool, designed to enhance the detection, analysis, and response to emerging risks across communities.
Iorpuu further explained that the initiative is focused on strengthening systems, improving coordination, and promoting shared responsibility among stakeholders. This, he said, will ensure that community-level information is systematically captured and acted upon, while roles and responsibilities across agencies remain clearly defined.
The framework is also expected to support timely verification, escalation, and response to alerts, guided by core protection principles such as accountability, the “do no harm” approach, and respect for affected populations.
The Executive Secretary further called on partners, government agencies, community leaders, and other stakeholders to actively contribute their expertise and experiences toward shaping a more coordinated and effective response system.
He emphasised the importance of cross-sector collaboration in addressing humanitarian challenges, noting that no single institution can respond effectively in isolation.
Reaffirming the agency’s commitment, he stated that Benue SEMA will continue to lead and coordinate emergency response efforts in the state, while strengthening partnerships with security agencies, line ministries, local authorities, communities, and humanitarian actors to ensure a more efficient and impactful response system.
The engagement is expected to produce actionable strategies that will enhance preparedness, improve response time, and ultimately reduce the impact of humanitarian crises across Benue State.
