Early Warning Early Action in East Africa: Mechanisms for Rapid Decision Making
Publisher: International Committee of the Red Cross, World Food Programme, Oxfam, Food and Agriculture Organization, Save the Children
Author(s): International Committee of the Red Cross, World Food Programme, Oxfam, Food and Agriculture Organization, Save the Children
Date: 2014
Topics: Data and Technologies, Humanitarian Assistance, Land, Livelihoods, Programming, Renewable Resources
Countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda
The crisis in the Horn of Africa and the declaration of famine conditions in parts of Somalia in 2011 provided renewed impetus to break, once and for all, the cycle of food insecurity in the region. Governments as well as regional and international actors all called for transformative action to ensure that the next drought does not turn into another humanitarian crisis. Humanitarian and development partners alike have shown commitment to doing things differently, investing in research to better understand how to manage risks rather than crises.
The operational research took the form of a literature review and interviews with a large number of stakeholders and practitioners in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia to take stock of progress, and to identify the characteristics of a well-functioning government-led Early Warning Early Action (EW EA) system.
Early action means ‘different’, not just ‘earlier’. The early actions being discussed here are not traditional humanitarian activities, although they need to be undertaken with a humanitarian sense of urgency. An early warning system produces an alert. This alert is specific to an area or a livelihood zone, and it provides advance notice: three months, perhaps as many as six. Within the focus area of the alert, there may already be development activities, projects supporting community resilience, and perhaps safety nets. As a result of the warning, there is time to make substantial adjustments as appropriate according to the context.
Early action activities can be implemented in a wide variety of sectors, depending on the projected scenarios, the livelihoods zone, and the context. Early action is closely linked to strengthening community resilience, and a multi-sectoral approach is more likely to be effective – and that in turn requires coordination. This report looks at the existing early warning and early actions systems in each of the three countries, as well as at regional level, and presents a model system.