National ownership makes anticipatory action work: the Chad experience

National ownership makes anticipatory action work: the Chad experience

Chad is increasingly exposed to predictable climate‑related shocks, particularly droughts, floods and rainfall variability. These hazards exacerbate food insecurity, malnutrition and people’s overall vulnerability, often triggering large‑scale humanitarian responses once these impacts have already materialized – at high human and financial cost.

Anticipatory action offers a different paradigm and in Chad, advancing this has required sustained investment in technical capacity, institutional arrangements and coordination mechanisms, so that early warning information can be translated into timely and credible actions. As part of these efforts, a training event on the foundations of anticipatory action helped to ensure that systems, institutions and partners are ready to act before a crisis escalates. This contributes to Chad’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its national capacities and systems for anticipatory action, with a clear ambition to move away from crisis response towards earlier, risk‑informed humanitarian action.

Strengthening technical understanding and collaboration

The primary objective of the training was to strengthen participants’ technical understanding of anticipatory action, while also reinforcing national ownership, coordination and preparedness around anticipatory approaches. The sessions covered the core operational architecture of anticipatory action, including:

• the fundamentals and added value of anticipatory action compared to post‑shock response
• the role of risk analysis, forecasts and early warning information in decision‑making
• the definition and use of triggers to activate anticipatory actions
• the design and prioritization of anticipatory actions, based on vulnerability and feasibility assessments, and other evidence
• the role of anticipatory action plans and standard operating procedures in translating forecasts into timely action
• the institutional arrangements and coordination mechanisms required to sustain and scale up anticipatory approaches.

Discussions were firmly grounded in the Chadian context, with particular attention paid to drought risk, existing national systems, and the roles and responsibilities of national institutions and partners in anticipatory action frameworks.

An interactive, nationally anchored approach to learning

The training adopted a participatory and interactive methodology, encouraging dialogue, experience sharing and cross‑institutional reflection. This supported a key objective of the training: not only to build technical knowledge, but also to reinforce trust, coordination and shared ownership among the actors who must work together before a crisis strikes.

It was also closely tied to the national context, with structured discussions that linked global and regional anticipatory action frameworks with the situation in Chad. A central message throughout the training was the importance of strong national leadership for sustainable and credible anticipatory action. This leadership is increasingly visible in the country. The Ministry of Social Action, Solidarity and Humanitarian Affairs, the General Directorate of Civil Protection and the National Meteorological Agency are all assuming a central role in steering anticipatory action efforts, reinforcing its alignment with national priorities and humanitarian coordination structures. At the same time, the National Meteorological Agency is leading on the provision and interpretation of the forecasts that underpin anticipatory decision‑making, highlighting the critical role of national technical institutions in anticipatory action systems.

Lessons for other countries

By reinforcing national ownership, technical leadership and coordinated engagement between partners, anticipatory action is transforming how Chad prepares for and responds to forecastable shocks: by shifting the focus towards earlier, smarter and more dignified humanitarian action. This was evident when partners in the country acted to alleviate the impacts of a forecast drought.

Chad’s experiences to date also highlights the need for leadership from government institutions and technical services. In Chad, this national ownership is a cornerstone for institutionalizing this approach and ensuring that it is embedded within national systems, rather than being ad hoc or driven through project‑based initiatives.

Enshrined in this national ownership, one lesson from Chad’s experience is the fundamental importance of establishing clear and collectively agreed activation protocols, with roles and responsibilities explicitly defined across all stakeholders. Such clarity ensures that early warning information can be swiftly translated into coordinated action, minimizing delays and uncertainty at critical moments. By anchoring these processes within government leadership, while maintaining strong alignment between partners, Chad has demonstrated how anticipatory action can move from being a concept to an effective practice. Ultimately, well-defined operational frameworks not only strengthen national ownership but also enable the timely and efficient activation of collective anticipatory action plans, contributing to faster, more coherent and more dignified humanitarian aid.