In this interactive session, participants mapped out the different actors and their activities in anticipatory action associated with sudden-onset hazards, such as floods in Mozambique following Tropical Cyclone Eloise, or slow-onset droughts. This was followed by an assessment of current gaps in the region.
Early actions such as early warning, community training, awareness raising, and the provision of relief material can reduce the impact of both slow and sudden onset hazards. In the context of sudden-onset hazards, agencies rather focus on food security, WASH, health, and shelter quite well, whereas gaps / niches are noted in particular, in the Protection and Livelihood sectors. For slow-onset hazards, stakeholders appear strong in food security, education, WASH and nutrition, of which the latter was noted as having good potential for synergies. Health was here noted as a main gap. It´s important that these protocols from such sectors are aligned with organisational and national strengths as agencies collaborate with each other and governments to reduce the impact of hazards.
Where is the region heading in the future? With the goal to align anticipatory action in southern Africa, the main challenges were listed: the competition for resources; the current lack of an overall coordinating body; different mandates of organizations.