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Pakistan takes anticipatory action forward at the 2nd National Dialogue Platform

Pakistan's 2nd National Dialogue Platform on Anticipatory Action saw the country take important steps towards scaling up this approach across the country, including through the soft launch of the new National Anticipatory Action Strategy.

Submitted by Muhammad Atif Khan
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Pakistan takes anticipatory action forward at the 2nd National Dialogue Platform

As climate-related disasters continue to intensify across Pakistan, the country is strengthening efforts to anticipate disasters before they strike and reduce their impacts on vulnerable communities. The 2nd National Dialogue Platform on Anticipatory Action, held at the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) headquarters in Islamabad, was another milestone towards this.

The event, held from 11 to 12 May 2026, brought together over 170 participants from government institutions, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international NGOs, humanitarian partners, academia, technical experts and development organizations. Together, they sought to strengthen collaboration, exchange lessons learned, improve coordination and further integrate anticipatory action into national systems across Pakistan.

The event opened with remarks from the chairman of the NDMA, Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik, as well as representatives from international partners. “Pakistan’s disaster risk management is witnessing a transition – from reactive response to proactive anticipatory action – in order to strengthen the overall disaster-risk-management framework, protect vulnerable communities and minimize human and economic losses," he noted. "I am very glad to see novel ideas and innovative perspectives discussed during the two days, but the best utility of this dialogue platform is when it is transformed into actions mitigating disasters' impacts and saving lives and people’s assets.”

“As climate shocks grow in frequency and intensity, the need to act before disasters strike has never been clearer. The priority now is to move beyond dialogue toward scalable, sustainable systems that embed early action into disaster management.”

Coco Ushiyama Country director, WFP Pakistan

“This dialogue is an opportunity to align our approaches, strengthen coordination, and ensure that anticipatory action is not implemented in silos, but as part of a coherent national system.”

Asif Aman Khan Country coordinator, German Red Cross Country Liaison Office, Pakistan

“We can no longer afford to respond only after disaster strikes. Let us move from fragmented efforts toward a more harmonized and coordinated anticipatory action framework for Pakistan.”

Leonor Fernandez Deputy FAO representative, FAO Pakistan

"This National Dialogue Platform has proven to be more than a discussion forum; it is a driver of transformation, turning ideas into actionable pathways for resilience. The soft launch of the National Anticipatory Action Strategy, supported by WFP, marks a key step toward embedding anticipatory action in Pakistan’s disaster-risk-management system. The strategy sets out clear pillars to guide institutionalization, moving [anticipatory action] from pilot initiatives to a nationally owned and scalable practice.”

Thomas Conan Deputy country director, WFP Pakistan

“Anticipatory action is no longer an option; it is a necessity for building a resilient and climate-ready Pakistan."

Isabel Bogorinsky Deputy head of office, Welthungerhilfe (WHH), Pakistan

A national strategy for anticipatory action

A highlight at the 2nd National Dialogue Platform was the soft launch of Pakistan’s National Anticipatory Action Strategy, led by NDMA and supported by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). This strategy is an important step towards embedding anticipatory action within Pakistan’s disaster management systems.

During the 2nd National Dialogue Platform, participants reflected on Pakistan’s experience to date with anticipatory action, including lessons from the 2025 monsoon season and experiences of actions triggered ahead of forecast floods. Thematic sessions focused on the need to harmonize approaches, improve interagency data-sharing, and strengthen government ownership of anticipatory action systems.

Further themes explored during the two days included: the importance of reaching vulnerable communities – with timely early warnings, preparedness support and anticipatory assistance – before disasters escalate; innovative approaches to the early detection of hazards and dissemination of warnings; disaster risk financing; integrating anticipatory action into community-based programmes; sectoral planning; and hazard-specific strategies.

Across these themes, participants stressed the importance of locally led preparedness, ‘last mile’ early warnings, and strengthening communities’ capacity to reduce the impacts of disasters before they escalate. The discussions also underscored the importance of collaboration – between scientific institutions, humanitarian actors, financial institutions and government agencies – to scale up anticipatory action across the country. This will increasingly require sustainable financing mechanisms and the stronger integration of anticipatory action into national-level plans for development and disaster management.

During the event, participants reflected on the achievements made since the first National Dialogue Platform in 2023, including:

  • an established National Coordination Forum on Anticipatory Action, chaired by the NDMA
  • the development of localized training packages
  • national, provincial and district capacity-building initiatives and the national ‘training of trainer’ course
  • the new National Anticipatory Action Strategy.

Commitments for the future

The 2nd National Dialogue Platform concluded with a collective commitment to strengthen partnerships further and continue efforts to harmonize and scale up anticipatory action across Pakistan, in order to help vulnerable communities be better prepared for climate-related disasters before they happen. Specific commitments made during the two days included:

  • an Early Warnings for All roadmap, to be led by the National Emergency Operation Centre
  • the issuance and implementation of the National Anticipatory Action Strategy
  • the establishment of a national pooled fund, to be hosted by the NDMA
  • the integration of anticipatory action into social protection programmes
  • harmonized national-level frameworks for prioritized hazards
  • encouraging the integration of this approach into sectoral plans
  • a proposal to host an Asia-Pacific Dialogue Platform at the NDMA.

Pakistan’s 2nd National Dialogue Platform on Anticipatory Action was organized under the leadership of the NDMA with support from WFP, FAO, the Pakistan Red Crescent, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), WHH and the European Commission’s European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.

Article by Muhammad Atif Khan, manager, anticipatory action, IFRC Country Delegation Pakistan. All photos by the NDMA communications team.