The Federal Government has commenced a $500m fundraising drive to strengthen the country’s preparedness for future flooding under the Global Flood Disaster Management Project.

The initiative was announced in a statement uploaded on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Social Media, Olusegun Dada, who said the programme represents a major shift from Nigeria’s reactive approach to disasters to a proactive, long-term flood management strategy.

According to Dada, the GFDMP is “a transformative initiative of the Renewed Hope administration aimed at moving Nigeria from reactive disaster responses to proactive flood management.”

He explained that the multi-year programme is built on four key pillars designed to provide a sustainable framework for national climate adaptation.

The first pillar, he noted, focuses on early warning systems by “enhancing forecasting capacity and deploying real-time digital alert systems to provide timely preparation and response time.”

The second priority area is resilient infrastructure, which includes “investing in better flood-resilient infrastructure, such as drainage improvements and potentially new reservoirs.”

The third pillar is capacity building, aimed at “strengthening the institutions responsible for disaster management and response coordination.”

The fourth component centres on community engagement, ensuring “meaningful community participation, including providing climate-adaptive guidance to farmers and involving vulnerable groups.”

Dada said the fundraising is being led by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency in collaboration with government institutions, private-sector partners and development actors.

He added that the programme includes a public-private collaboration campaign known as the Stay Afloat Initiative, which focuses on raising awareness and delivering strategic resilience projects across vulnerable communities.

The Federal Government said the effort is part of its broader national strategy to reduce the impact of recurrent floods, which have displaced thousands and caused major economic losses in recent years. (The PUNCH)