INTEGRATING SAFETY AND DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT INTO SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT: POLICY PERSPECTIVES FOR AKWA IBOM STATE

Resilient and safe infrastructure is essential to sustainable development since infrastructure failures may lead to interruption of basic services, economic destruction, increased social vulnerability, and erosion of development efforts. The paper explored ways of integrating occupational safety, disaster risk reduction (DRR), climate resilience, and sustainable development of infrastructure in the context of policy and institutional framework of Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria. It employed a combination of conceptual and policy analysis using the provided source material supplemented with arguments based on international and Nigerian disaster management policies and recent peer-reviewed literature. The analysis was performed across four interrelated dimensions: safety culture and occupational health and safety, multi-hazard disaster risk governance, resilient infrastructure planning, investment and management, and policy alignment with SDGs, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, and the ARISE Agenda of Akwa Ibom State. From the analysis, it follows that safety should not be considered as a site-specific activity disconnected from the infrastructure planning process. Instead, the processes of risk assessment, prevention, emergency preparedness, asset management, climate adaptation, public engagement, monitoring, and post-disaster learning must be incorporated throughout the infrastructure life cycle. It is even more relevant for the state of Akwa Ibom since the coastlines and low-lying areas in the State make it vulnerable to hazards such as floods, erosion, and storms associated with the climate. The model of governance recommended within the paper includes risk-informed planning, inter-agency coordination, accurate risk information, competent safety personnel, resilient procurement and design, early warning system, infrastructure maintenance, and community engagement. The paper recommends that the alignment of ARISE Agenda with SDGs 9, 11, and 13, along with Sendai priorities, will serve as an appropriate framework.