Attachments
SUMMARY OF THE EARLY ACTION PROTOCOL
The IFRC Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) has approved a total of CHF 544,464 for the implementation of the Salvadorean Red Cross Society - Drought EAP. The approved amount consists of an allocation of CHF 306,904 for readiness and prepositioning and CHF 237,560 allocated to implement early actions once the defined triggers are met.
Allocations are made from the Anticipatory Pillar of the DREF, under the DREF appeal code MDR00001. Unearmarked contributions to the DREF are encouraged to guarantee enough funding is available for the Early Action Protocols being developed.
Drought is the primary hazard causing the highest recorded economic losses in El Salvador, accounting for 72.49% of total recorded losses. Flooding ranks second, responsible for 25.43% of the economic losses. This context makes drought a priority for early action planning.
The Early Action Protocol (EAP) for meteorological droughts associated with the El Niño phenomenon, developed by the Salvadorean Red Cross (SRC), is a tool designed to guide the timely and effective implementation of early actions based on meteorological forecasts that predict extreme drought events. These events, if realized without adequate preparation, pose a high probability of triggering a humanitarian crisis. Such a crisis can be avoided or, at the very least, minimized through coordinated and anticipatory action by the Government of El Salvador, at-risk communities, stakeholders, and the SRC.
This EAP has been developed with active participation from the SRC and its subsidiary organizations, in close collaboration with the Directorate General for Threats and Natural Resources Observation (DGOA) and the Directorate General of Civil Protection. Each of these entities plays a fundamental role in preparing and activating this forecast-based early action mechanism.
The plan activates based on a forecast issued by the DGOA, with an implementation window of three months and ongoing monitoring. Its primary objective is to reduce vulnerability and mitigate the impacts of drought on the most exposed population sectors. The EAP aims to proactively address major drought impacts, focusing specifically on safeguarding livelihoods and sanitation services in vulnerable communities.
The EAP does not operate in isolation; it is closely linked with existing Disaster Risk Management and Reduction and Contingency Plans. This linkage ensures that early actions intended to be executed between the time the forecast is issued, and the potential disaster event are implemented promptly and effectively.
It is essential to note that, while the EAP is an integral effort to reduce the impacts of an extreme drought, it does not preclude the potential need for additional response actions should the severity and duration of the event exceed the initial early response capacity in the affected areas.