By NECJOGHA News Desk
South Sudan’s growing vulnerability to climate shocks and humanitarian crises has highlighted the urgent need for a structured framework that shifts the country from reactive responses to proactive measures. In response, the government, together with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), has launched the National Roadmap for Anticipatory Action (2025–2030).
The roadmap is designed to transform early warning into early action, ensuring that communities are protected before disasters strike. FAO South Sudan posted on its official X account that the launch represents a milestone for the country, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding lives and livelihoods through preparedness.
The UK Ambassador to South Sudan, writing on his official X account, underscored the global relevance of anticipatory approaches. He stated that experiences in Bangladesh and Madagascar demonstrate how early warning and preparatory action in advance of natural disasters and climate shocks can save lives, protect livelihoods, and reduce costs.
IGAD’s Climate Prediction and Applications Centre noted that the framework represents a significant step in strengthening South Sudan’s capacity to address both climate and non-climate shocks. With risks increasing in frequency and intensity, the establishment of systems that anticipate and act on early warnings is seen as critical for resilience and long-term stability.
What is Anticipatory Action?
Anticipatory action refers to actions taken to reduce the humanitarian impacts of a forecast hazard before it occurs, or before its most acute impacts are felt. The decision to act is based on a forecast, or collective risk analysis, of when, where and how the event will unfold (IFRC 2020).
Anticipatory action is a humanitarian approach that aims to save lives and livelihoods and reduce losses and suffering. It takes different forms and happens on a range of scales, depending on the mandate of the organizations involved, the context in which people live, the type of hazard(s) they are facing, and the available forecasts and data for that hazard. Depending on the type of hazard and forecasts available, anticipatory action can be carried out well ahead of the shock (for slower onset events) or just before the impacts fully take hold (for more rapid-onset events).
Anticipatory action: a few key points
- Anticipatory action is part of the disaster risk management cycle.
- It systematically links early warnings to early action.
- Acting before the onset of a forecast hazard helps to protect the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable people around the world.
- Acting before a hazard becomes a disaster helps to build people’s resilience to future shocks and eases the pressure on strained humanitarian resources.
- Anticipatory action should not be seen as a substitute for longer-term investment in disaster risk reduction; instead, it aims to strengthen people’s capacity to manage risks.
This approach reduces humanitarian costs, saves lives, and strengthens resilience by ensuring vulnerable populations are protected before shocks escalate into emergencies.
