Anticipatory Action Workshop in the IGAD Region Prepares to Enhance Disaster Preparedness
The IGAD Climate Prediction and Application Centre (ICPAC), in collaboration with key partners, hosted a three-day workshop for anticipatory action in the IGAD region in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
This multi-stakeholder workshop aimed towards establishing a regional guiding framework for implementing Anticipatory Action in the IGAD region, sharing lessons learned, and charting the way forward for Early Warning and Anticipatory Early Action.
Key stakeholders in the realm of anticipatory action were present at the workshop:
- Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA)
- World Food Programme (WFP)
- Anticipation Hub
- International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
- National meteorological and hydrological agencies
- National disaster management authorities
- National drought management authorities
- Academia and research institutions
The workshop fostered cross-sectoral, multilateral and multi-stakeholder awareness creation and sensitization about the integrating role of anticipatory action in mitigating disaster impacts in the IGAD region.
Teferi Demissie (Senior Climate Scientist with AICCRA for East and Southern Africa) delivers his keynote remarks.
During the three-day workshop held in May 2023, the participants discussed how to establish a common understanding of principles, terminology, and implementation of anticipatory action across all regions.
Teferi Demissie, a Senior Climate Scientist from AICCRA, posed a question regarding the implementation of existing forecasts. He asked:
"How do we ensure that the forecast information reaches the last mile and the farmers who need to act on it?"
He emphasized the importance of acting upon the information provided by the forecast "regardless of the information provided, we need to act on it".
Attention was given to understanding the financial mechanisms available and those that could be potentially used for anticipatory actions.
George Otieno from ICPAC explained that most initiatives are still in the pilot stage and need to be scaled to cover all vulnerable people in order to improve community resilience.
Throughout the event, success stories from around the world and regional case studies were shared, and participating countries discussed lessons they had learned.
During group work and interactive sessions, all attendees had the opportunity to share their own experiences and expertise, contributing to the development of anticipatory action strategies.
After the event, the stakeholders and organizers came to a consensus that the event was just the beginning of a series of similar events to establish a framework for anticipatory actions.
Dr. Ahmed Amdihun, Regional Programme Coordinator for Disaster Risk Management at ICPAC, summed up the collective learning experience by saying:
"We have learned a lot from all our portfolios and worked together to achieve more."
He also said they hope for more workshops like this in future.
Further information
Some of the collaborative partnerships between AICCRA and ICPAC are listed below.
- South-South Technical Knowledge Exchange and Learning Initiative (STEKELI) Workshop for ICPAC and AGRHYMET
- Meet the next generation of Africa’s climate forecasters
- Institutional Linkages, South-South Partnerships and Capacity Building Hands-on Workshop on Objective Climate Forecasts for the Agriculture and Food Security Sector in Eastern and Southern Africa
Images from the workshop
