Eighteen organizations call for coordinated anticipatory action to be scaled up in Colombia

Eighteen organizations call for coordinated anticipatory action to be scaled up in Colombia

On 20 May 2026, 18 humanitarian organizations and networks presented a joint declaration on anticipatory action in Colombia. This sets out four priorities for scaling up this approach in the country. The declaration was made during a thematic session, ‘Anticipación en Acción’, at Colombia’s first National Platform on Disaster Risk Management in Bogotá, organized by Colombia's National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (Unidad Nacional para la Gestión del Riesgo de Desastres/UNGRD).

Rapid growth – but limited coordination

South America is the fastest-growing subregion for anticipatory action in Latin America and the Caribbean. According to the latest mapping by the Technical Working Group on Anticipatory Action in Latin America and the Caribbean (Grupo Técnico de Acción Anticipatoria en Latinoamérica y el Caribe/GTAA LAC), active frameworks in South America grew by 50 per cent between March 2025 and March 2026, from 12 to 18, while frameworks under development nearly doubled, from 19 to 34. Pre-arranged funding in the subregion almost doubled, rising from 3.4 million to 6.4 million US dollars.

Colombia is at the centre of this expansion. The country now has 12 frameworks (6 active, 6 under development); these target drought, floods, hurricanes, dengue and complex crises, and are coordinated by several different organizations. There have been five activations recorded since 2023, reaching tens of thousands of people across the country. As more organizations enter this space, however, the risk of duplication and inconsistency grows.

A joint call for coherence

The joint declaration, presented at the close of the thematic session, addresses these gaps directly. Furthermore, it is aligned with UNGRD's Circular 070-2024, an updated version of which was also presented during the session, and which provides a technical framework for the institutionalization of this approach in the country.

The signatories commit to four areas:

• They will strengthen coordination among anticipatory action actors in Colombia, sharing lessons, prioritizing interagency frameworks over isolated initiatives, and supporting regular national-level coordination in connection with existing mechanisms.
• They will adopt a harmonized definition of anticipatory action, as agreed by the Grand Bargain Caucus on Scaling Up Anticipatory Action and the GTAA LAC, reducing the differing uses of the term.
• They will support institutional actors with integrating this approach into national systems for disaster risk management and for adaptive social protection.
• They jointly declare that 2026 is the ‘Year of Anticipatory Action’ in Colombia, committing to concrete and measurable progress toward scaling up this approach in a coordinated and sustainable manner.

From dialogue to action

The two-hour thematic session brought together representatives from United Nations agencies, international and national non-governmental organizations, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, and other networks, enabling them to take stock of anticipatory action in Colombia and agree on a shared path forward.

As well as the launch of the joint declaration, it featured presentations on the global and regional state of anticipatory action, as well as experiences in Colombia to date. These included: WFP’s flood framework in Chocó; the Colombian Red Cross’s early action protocol for drought; FAO’s work with the Ministry of Agriculture on La Niña; Start Network’s interorganizational approach; and Mercy Corps’ hurricane response in San Andrés. A high-level panel discussion closed the session.

This event took place at a time of broader regional momentum for anticipatory action. In May 2025, the Andean Community’s disaster committee (CAN-CAPRADE) held its first subregional dialogue on anticipatory action in Bogotá, and in September 2025, over 500 participants gathered at the 1st South American Dialogue Platform on Anticipatory Action in Santiago, Chile. And in March 2026, CEPREDENAC adopted its regional strategy for the institutionalization of anticipatory action. Today’s declaration adds Colombia’s national voice to this growing regional architecture.