Fascinating experiences were shared by the German Red Cross, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Government of Paraguay and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), about partnerships and institutionalization of Anticipatory Action (AA) in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
Mathieu Destrooper, from the German Red Cross, offered a detailed vision of efforts to promote AA in the region and shared valuable thoughts about the challenges to work on: (i) scaling up at all levels: more lessons learned, more variety of shocks, more governments, more evidence; (ii) Institutionalization: work on enhancing capacities, plans and policies for AA, alliances and coordination between actors; (iii) collaboration and coordination spaces: responsibility of all actors and (iv) learning and sharing; and finally, (v) more localization.
Edgar Mayeregger, from the Paraguayan Ministry of Agriculture, explained how they migrated from early warning plans to AA plans, which meant a cultural change within the ministry. For the incorporation of AA, the training of different actors for the development of the plans was vital. This resulted in the development of an agenda that seeks to institutionalize AA practices.
Gustavo García, from FAO Guatemala, presented best practices and lessons learnt from the implementation of AA in the Dry Corridor. It was essential to work with seasonal calendars, prioritize risks and develop territorial intervention strategies with a gender perspective. Interventions are being implemented at the departmental level, generating a work ecosystem with different actors such as: the Ministry of Agriculture, municipal and community governments and civil society, involving families, women and youth, for the institutionalization of Anticipatory Action. As a result, lives, livelihoods and food security of the most vulnerable households in the Dry Corridor were protected and increased their resilience to drought.
Dario Alvarez, from OCHA, shared his vision on how to institutionalize AA in the LAC region where humanitarian needs are increasing in an unprecedented way. Institutionalization means creating a culture in institutions, not only through regulatory frameworks, but also through pilot projects and their scalability. He called on the use of existing tools, such as the Anticipation Hub. Thinking ahead implies acting early, and effective AA requires agreements between organizations. We must also remember that understanding within the organizations must be fostered, discussing the subject and developing joint experiences.
It was a very enriching space with an exchange of experiences and replicable actions to promote and continue institutionalizing and scaling up AA in the region.