Anticipatory action by WFP in Haiti

The World Food Programme (WFP) is committed to addressing climate change as a root cause of food insecurity in Haiti. Among its different strategies, WFP aims to anticipate shocks before they escalate into full-scale disasters. Since 2015, WFP Haiti has been developing an anticipatory action programme aimed at reducing the impacts of predictable floods and cyclones. This includes strengthening early warning systems, improving national weather-forecasting and -monitoring capabilities, and building the government’s capacity for disaster preparedness and response.

In 2022, WFP expanded its efforts from geographically focused pilot projects to more integrated and sustainable programmes with nationwide coverage. Building on the progress made in improving social protection, including through the expansion of the national social registry to better identify vulnerable households, WFP has been actively supporting the integration of anticipatory action into the national disaster-management system. Achievements include integrating this approach into the country’s manual for shock-responsive social protection.

In November 2023, WFP activated its Anticipatory Action Plan for Floods. This helped to protect vulnerable people from floods by issuing early warnings to over 71,000 people and providing cash transfers to more than 3,500 households, enabling them to prepare for the anticipated floods.

In 2024, WFP aimed to expand the geographical reach of anticipatory action, attaining countrywide coverage for almost 600,000 people at risk of cyclone or floods. It also continued with efforts to institutionalize anticipatory action within the national systems for shock-responsive social protection and disaster risk management, as well as mainstreaming this approach among the humanitarian community and its response mechanisms. These efforts included providing support to strengthen government capacity to design and disseminate climate and weather information, and to issue alerts to ensure that institutions and communities can make informed decisions ahead of hazards’ impacts.