Dialogue Platform

Act early, protect better: highlights from the South American Dialogue Platform

How can we anticipate disasters to better protect communities? This question brought together more than 500 representatives from governments, international organizations, civil society and communities at the South American Dialogue Platform on Anticipatory Action, the seventh dialogue platform to be held in the Americas. In total, 120 people gathered in Santiago, Chile, while nearly 330 joined the live broadcast from around the world, adding their voices, perspectives and experiences to the exchanges.

Under the theme ‘Act early, protect better: strengthening anticipatory action in South America’, participants built new partnerships and explored how anticipatory action can reduce the devastating impacts of drought, floods, wildfires and other extreme events. This included the complex crises, where multiple hazards collide, that are being explored and piloted through anticipatory action initiatives in the region.

Anticipatory action is now a priority on the disaster risk management agenda, proving its relevance in the face of climate change and economic challenges. The evidence is clear: anticipatory actions save lives and reduce material losses.

A platform for collaboration

For two days, participants discussed how to strengthen institutional frameworks, integrate anticipatory action into disaster risk management policies, and promote innovative solutions adapted to South American contexts. These exchanges underscored how the region has become one of the most ambitious global advocates for institutionalizing this approach within national and regional frameworks, for example by exploring multi-hazard systems and the use of artificial intelligence to improve early warnings and decision-making.

Since 2018, the regional dialogue platforms in the Americas have created a vibrant regional community of practice. These gatherings have proven essential in fostering cooperation among governments, humanitarian actors, scientists and communities. The seventh edition in Santiago continued this legacy, renewing South America’s commitment to advancing anticipatory action in the face of climate change and growing disaster risks.

The conversations and commitments from Santiago will continue to shape how anticipatory action is scaled up and embedded across South America. As the impacts of climate change intensify, acting early and protecting better remains not just a vision, but a shared responsibility.

Acting early and protecting better lies at the heart of anticipatory action: shifting from response to prevention, and reducing the impact on people’s lives. FAO has made this approach a strategic priority to protect agricultural livelihoods and food security.

This dialogue platform is a vital space for building cohesion across sectors - public and private, technical and academic, governmental and humanitarian - all united under the same goal: reducing human suffering through anticipatory action.

Images from the South American Dialogue Platform

The South American Dialogue Platform was organized by the Anticipation Hub, an initiative of the German Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, together with the Chilean Red Cross, FAO, Practical Action, the IFRC, the American Red Cross, the German Red Cross, Start Network and the Danish Refugee Council.

Photos by Vivian María Pavón Flores, German Red Cross.

Lea la versión en español de este artículo aquí.