Attachments
To effectively address the impacts of the climate crisis and reach the most vulnerable populations, a shift from reactive response to proactive risk management is essential. Anticipatory Action (AA) approaches have gained significant momentum in recent years as a means to prevent predictable climate hazards from escalating into humanitarian disasters. This proactive disaster management strategy involves taking steps to mitigate the humanitarian impacts of forecasted hazards before they occur or before their most severe effects are felt.
In October 2022, the 1st National Dialogue Platform on AA was conducted in Malawi. Hosted by Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA), Malawi Red Cross Society (MRCS), Danish Red Cross (DRC), Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN Resident Coordinator's Office, the event brought together 33 humanitarian actors to co-create the National Roadmap for Multi-hazard Anticipatory Actions (Annex 4) which was further reviewed in December 2023. The roadmap, aligned with regional, African, and global milestones, focuses on the four pillars: coordination, triggers, financing, and advocacy and awareness.
As an outcome of the National Roadmap and Malawi’s national strategy to enhance disaster preparedness and response, the Malawi National Anticipatory Action Technical Working Group (MNAA-TWG) was established in the beginning of 2024 following the official endorsement of DoDMA. This group focuses on enhancing the country’s capacity to prepare for, anticipate, and act ahead of shocks and disasters based on early warnings and risk analyses.
Building on the outcomes of the 1st National Dialogue Platform and the subsequent update in 2023, the Government of Malawi, through DODMA, with support from the MRCS and DRC, and in partnership with the FAO and World Food Programme (WFP), UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and UN Resident Coordinator, hosted the 2nd National Dialogue Platform on AA from 26-27 November 2024 in Lilongwe. The event was attended by 76 participants, representing national- and district level government, UN organisations, (I)NGOs, academia, and media. Besides inviting national AA stakeholders, the event also brought key government stakeholders from Mozambique to share their experiences and progress on AA.
The 2nd National Dialogue Platform was hosted under the theme “A Roadmap Coming Alive: Navigating Barriers and Enablers for Institutionalising Anticipatory Action in Malawi”. The event provided an opportunity for all stakeholders in the AA sector to discuss how to effectively operationalise the roadmap, how to strengthen the coordination and institutionalisation of AA at national and local levels, how to overcome major barriers to bring (locally led) AA to scale and how to strengthen financing options for AA.
OBJECTIVES
• Provide an overview of AA in Malawi and in the region
• Share lessons and new developments from the implementation of AA
• Establish the major barriers to and enablers for scaling up and institutionalising AA in Malawi
• Facilitate multi-actor discussions on the present and future of AA in Malawi to harness existing momentum and create synergies for continuous collaboration
• Increase the knowledge of and interest in using AA to mitigate disaster impact, including crosscutting thematic areas such as cash, social protection and Protection Gender Inclusion