Asia-Pacific Technical Working Group on Anticipatory Action

The Asia-Pacific region is one of the most diverse in the world. It’s home to nearly 4.5 billion people – some 60 per cent of the global population – with roughly 2,300 languages and dialects between them. Its geography reflects this diversity, from the high plateaus of Afghanistan to the tropical islands of Fiji and the wide-open grasslands of the Mongolian steppe.

The region is also one of the most hazard-prone: some 70 per cent of the world’s disasters occur here. And they hit particularly hard for families with limited resources, who often belong to minority groups, living in remote areas or on the fringes of cities. For them, the unending cycle of cyclones, floods, droughts and heat waves can be relentless.These hazards are also getting more frequent and intense, thanks to climate change.

The impacts of conflict and economic problems can be equally taxing, especially if these coincide with hazards. It’s no coincidence that some of the most hazard-prone communities in the region are also among the world’s poorest, as crisis after crisis strips away at the hard-earned assets of families who have limited means to protect themselves and limited time to recover between shocks.

Anticipatory action in the Asia-Pacific region

While we may not entirely prevent disasters from happening, we can minimize the consequences by acting early. Anticipatory action is an approach that combines impact-based forecasting, anticipatory (or early) actions, ex-ante financing, and efforts to strengthen countries' operational capacity to implement actions ahead of a hazard. It has been widely accepted and adopted by humanitarian partners and governments in the region as a way to better protect people's lives and livelihoods, and to maintain their self-reliance.

By using better forecasting models, pre-positioning resources and mapping the most vulnerable groups, anticipatory action has the potential to prevent people from falling further into destitution and sustain development gains. Consider, for example, a family’s ability to keep their children in school with the income they derive from the livestock they were able to protect through anticipatory action, or how a community can maintain a basic level of nutrition, even in challenging times. In short, by being a timely form of disaster risk management, anticipatory action reduces losses and suffering, and protects progress.

As interest in anticipatory action grows in the Asia-Pacific, so does the need for information-sharing, coordination and joint advocacy. There is currently a gap in terms of regional partnerships convening the humanitarian, development and climate-resilience communities, and a need to draw on evidence and best practice to drive and unify standards, while also increasing investment. The Asia-Pacific Technical Working Group on Anticipatory Action aims to address this gap and promote a regional approach to knowledge-sharing and cooperation.

Minimum training package on anticipatory action

Based on the needs identified in the Asia-Pacific Dialogue Platform on Anticipatory Action (in Bangkok, November 2022), a sub-group on training was established under the regional TWGAA. The sub-group supported the development of a minimum training package on AA that can be used collectively (or by any single agency), at the country level, with a common and harmonized messaging. This training package aims to capacitate national and local actors to intervene in anticipation of extreme events and support the institutionalization of the approach. It was presented at the regional ToT in Bangkok, in April 2024, bringing together representatives from 12 countries that are actively engaged in applying the approach as part of their DRM efforts. Any interested country/ agency can now adapt the minimum training package based on their respective context and level of advancement in AA.

Find the Trainer Facilitation Guide and the modules below.

Anticipatory Action: Trainer Facilitation Guide for Asia Region

News / Events

News January 07, 2025

Dialogue Platform, Networks & Conferences

Meaningful partnerships for sustainable anticipatory action: highlights from 1st Sri Lanka National Dialogue Platform

The 1st Sri Lanka National Dialogue Platform on Anticipatory Action helped to ensure there is a fundamental change within the country’s humanitarian system: from reaction to anticipation.

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News January 07, 2025

Future leaders

Celebrating innovation: ASEAN Youth Day for Early Warning and Anticipatory Action

On 22 November 2024, the winners of the first ASEAN Youth and Digital Innovation for Early Warning and Anticipatory Action contest presented their innovative ideas.

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News December 09, 2024

Other

A unified approach: national- and provincial-level training on anticipatory action in Pakistan

Pakistan recently organized its first training courses on anticipatory action, using a common approach to ensure that the country's capacity is strengthened at both the national and provincial …

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News December 02, 2024

Scaling up

Training in anticipatory action for national-level stakeholders in the Maldives

A workshop on anticipatory action in the Maldives identified ways to establish this approach within the national system for disaster risk management, while drawing inspiration from traditional …

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Blog December 02, 2024

GIS & Mapping

Using geoinformation for anticipatory action frameworks: a technical training workshop in Pakistan

Geoinformation plays a critical role in anticipatory action, providing a clear, data-driven picture of where the risks are highest and which areas are most vulnerable to hazards. A recent workshop …

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Blog October 14, 2024

Locally led

Strengthening locally led anticipatory action in Pakistan

Pakistan’s unique geographical landscape means its communities face rising threats from a number of hazards – but locally led anticipatory action is offering a way to mitigate the impacts.

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News October 01, 2024

Early Action, Gender & Inclusion, Shelter, WASH

The Nepal Red Cross Society activates its Simplified Early Action Protocol for Floods

As heavy rains continue to affect the country, the Nepal Red Cross Society has activated its Simplified EAP for Floods and will now implement a series of anticipatory actions to support people at …

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News September 16, 2024

Dialogue Platform, Networks & Conferences

A pathway towards national frameworks for anticipatory action: highlights from the 1st South Asia Dialogue Platform

More than 80 participants gathered for the 1st South Asia Dialogue Platform in Sri Lanka, working together to establish clear pathways towards national frameworks for anticipatory action.

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Blog September 11, 2024

Social Protection

From reactive to proactive: anticipatory action for drought through social protection systems in the Philippines

Anticipatory action can reduce the impacts of slow-onset disasters on rural farming communities. One example is the successful implementation of a pilot scheme to act ahead of the El Niño-induced …

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News September 07, 2024

Dialogue Platform, Networks & Conferences

The 1st South Asia Dialogue Platform takes place in Sri Lanka

The 1st South Asia Dialogue Platform on Anticipatory Humanitarian Action will take place in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 10 to 11 September. This will be followed by the Sri Lanka National Dialogue …

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Map of current anticipatory action programmes in Asia Pacific


Find more information about the programmes on the global map.


Contact

Raymond Zingg

Regional Anticipatory Action Coordinator

IFRC Asia Pacific Regional Office

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Catherine Jones

Anticipatory Action Lead for Asia-Pacific

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

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