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Reflections on the 5th Africa Dialogue Platform
The 5th Africa Dialogue Platform was the largest to date, with more than 400 participants joining over the three days. Kiswendsida Guigma, forecast-based financing technical advisor at the Climate Centre, shares some thoughts on the main outcomes from a West African perspective (first interview), while Oscar Lino, climate scientist and climate risks specialist, International Centre for Humanitarian Affairs, Kenya Red Cross Society, provided a view from eastern Africa (second interview).
The 5th Africa Dialogue Platform covered a wide range of issues and themes. What was your main highlight from the three days?
For me, the most important thing was the consensus across all stakeholders – except funders, who were not present in all sessions – that there should be more collaboration and less competition within our field. This will ensure that we are all focused on really supporting the most vulnerable communities, rather than showing off our achievements.
What do you think is still missing from the conversations around anticipatory action in Africa?
Political contextualization is something that we still miss quite a lot. Many African states have instable political situations and many are facing conflict situations. Unfortunately, these states are also those where anticipatory action is often most needed to address drought, floods and food insecurity. For anticipatory action to be implemented more efficiently, there needs to be greater consideration of this important aspect. It should also be institutionalized to help ensure it is sustainable.
We now have a roadmap for anticipatory action in Africa! How do you see this document supporting efforts to scale up this approach in your region?
There are a number of institutions and technical centres in West and Central Africa, which can be relied on to help scale up anticipatory action. The roadmap for anticipatory action in Africa, developed at this Africa Dialogue Platform, will help these institutions to adjust their policies to better integrate this approach.
The 5th Africa Dialogue Platform covered a wide range of issues and themes. What was your main highlight from the three days?
While governments are major donors to anticipatory action, the government of Germany is taking a leading initiative to commit to increasing the funding for this approach. Similarly, the IFRC are committing to increase their funding pot for anticipatory action, through the DREF, by up to 500,000 Swiss francs. This is indeed leading by example and provides an opportunity to scale up anticipatory action.
What do you think is still missing from the conversations around anticipatory action in Africa?
Community voices and the real donors.
We now have a roadmap for anticipatory action in Africa! How do you see this document supporting efforts to scale up this approach in your region?
For the longest time there has been competition among implementers, while resource-mobilizing and different stakeholders are developing their own systems to attract money. For example, WFP, FAO and the Kenya Red Cross Society all have their own systems [for anticipatory action]. We need to have honest reflections about where our strengths and weaknesses are, and collaborate through joint efforts that complement each other. The roadmap comes in handy as a tool to support the coordination of these efforts.
You can rewatch all the main sessions from the 5th Africa Dialogue Platform on the event website.