Source: Start Network Posted: 17 Sep 2025 Originally published: 17 Sep 2025 Origin: View original
Start Network roundtable discussions held in July and August 2025 highlighted that anticipatory action (AA) is transforming crisis management in Madagascar and in Zimbabwe.
In both countries, AA has shown promise in delivering faster response times, protecting livelihoods, and reducing reliance on harmful coping strategies. However, similar challenges persist, including short anticipatory windows for rapid-onset hazards such as cyclones and floods, fragmented data and weak forecasting systems, and the exclusion of at-risk groups from planning and implementation.
Key topics of conversation in Madagascar focused on community co-design, data harmonisation, and trust-building at the local level and in Zimbabwe conversation emphasised the importance of integrating AA into national disaster risk management systems and generating evidence to secure, donor confidence and contribute to the scale up of AA.
This learning report sets out the challenges and opportunities raised at the roundtables.
