High-Level Humanitarian Event on Anticipatory Action: A Commitment to Act Ahead of Crises

The United Nations and the Governments of Germany and the United Kingdom are convening a High-Level event to advance anticipatory action and galvanise a collective push to act ahead of crises. This event comes at a key moment, building on recent G7 commitments on anticipatory action and ahead of UNFCCC COP26, recognising the growing impact of climate change on the severity and frequency of disasters.

Global humanitarian needs are at an all-time high and continue to grow. Crises are driven by fragility and conflict, amplified by climate change and the impact of COVID-19. Some 237 million people will require humanitarian assistance in 2021, a 40 per cent increase on last year, while extreme poverty has risen for the first time in 22 years.

Rather than waiting for a shock to occur and humanitarian needs to manifest, we can predict both the shock (for example a drought or flood) and the impact (for example food insecurity) with increasing precision. This enables us to take anticipatory action before the worst impacts of the shock to save lives, stop needs growing, reduce suffering and maximize the impact of limited funding.

This high-level event - to be opened by the United Nations Secretary-General - will showcase compelling examples of this anticipatory approach and generate signals of support to scale action. Leaders from governments, international financial institutions, the United Nations and civil society will come together to demonstrate that the world is committed to act ahead of predictable crises.

Photo by UNOCHA