Charles Oduor By Charles Etale
IN SUMMARY
– IGAD Executive Secretary Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu says region must close gap between early warning and early action
– CS Interior Kipchumba Murkomen says Kenya integrating anticipatory action into law, budgets and county systems
– Dialogue comes as FEWS NET warns 155-165M people may need food aid by April 2027
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has warned that Eastern Africa knows the cost of inaction in the face of climate shocks, as delayed funding leaves communities exposed even when disasters are predicted in advance.
IGAD Executive Secretary, Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, said the region must move from issuing forecasts to releasing resources before damage occurs.
“We know what drought takes from a pastoral family. We know what floods do to a village, a school, a road, or a harvest. We know how conflict and displacement can turn a climate shock into a humanitarian crisis,” Dr. Workneh said during the opening of the 2nd Eastern Africa Dialogue Platform on Anticipatory Action in Mombasa on Wednesday.
“We know, too often, that the warning comes before the disaster, but the resources arrive after the damage. That is the gap we have come here to close.”
Dr. Workneh, who was speaking at Pride Inn Paradise, Mombasa, said IGAD was born out of drought and the conviction that shared risks must be faced together – a conviction that remains relevant today as climate shocks, conflict and economic pressures place immense strain on communities.
Forecast Alone Does Not Protect
The IGAD chief said anticipatory action is only a game changer when it is properly financed, institutionalised and implemented.
“A forecast alone does not protect a family, community or even a country. The difference is made when information leads to a decision, the decision releases resources, and those resources reach communities before the impact,” he said.
“That is when early warning becomes early action. That is when preparedness becomes protection.”
He added that the economic case is compelling: “Every dollar spent early can save several dollars in losses and response costs. Our region cannot afford to wait until disasters shatter lives, livelihoods and the development gains we have worked so hard to achieve.”
According to FEWS NET’s October 2026 Food Assistance Outlook Brief cited at the meeting, between 155 million and 165 million people across monitored countries will need urgent humanitarian food assistance by April 2027. The figure includes up to 21.9 million in Sudan, 16.9 million each in Nigeria and DRC, and up to 5.9 million in Somalia where floods could cause crop losses comparable to 1997 or 2019.
From Pilots to Systems
Dr. Workneh said since the first Dialogue Platform held in Mombasa in 2024, member states have developed national anticipatory action roadmaps and advanced regional collaboration through the Regional Technical Working Group on Anticipatory Action.
“But we must now move from progress to institutionalisation. From pilots to systems. From isolated interventions to coordinated action. From commitments on paper to resources on the ground,” he said.
He called for anticipatory action to be embedded in national policies, disaster risk management frameworks, agriculture, water, livestock, health and social protection, and to reach the local level.
“Communities are the first to face the consequences of climate extremes. We must give local actors the capacity, authority, information and resources to act,” he said.
“Anticipatory action must not only reach communities. Communities must shape and lead it. We must ensure that women, youth, pastoral communities, and people affected by displacement are meaningfully involved.”
He urged member states to integrate anticipatory action into national budgets and called on partners to provide predictable financing that can be released when risk thresholds are reached.
“We cannot expect governments and local institutions to act before disasters if the resources are uncertain, fragmented or arrive too late,” Dr. Workneh said, thanking the European Union through DG ECHO, the German Federal Foreign Office, and the Government of Kenya for hosting.
Kenya’s Commitments
Officially opening the forum, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration, Kipchumba Murkomen, said climate-induced disasters are occurring with increasing regularity and intensity, threatening public safety and stability.
“Climate-induced disasters are occurring with increasing regularity and intensity, exerting pressure on livelihoods and threatening public safety and the stability of our societies,” Murkomen said.
He said Kenya is strengthening early warning and response systems and integrating disaster risk reduction into both short and long-term planning, including resilient infrastructure.
Kenya’s agenda is anchored in the Disaster Risk Management Act 2026, the Disaster Risk Financing Strategy 2026-2030, the Kenya Anticipatory Action Roadmap 2024-2029, and the National Framework for Climate Services.
“Anticipatory action must be embedded in how government works, with clear mandates, agreed procedures and accountability, not left to temporary projects or external partners,” Murkomen said. “Anticipatory action is therefore not simply a technical intervention, but a vital instrument of public safety, national security, and responsible governance.”
He said Kenya will make anticipatory action a non-negotiable core function of national and county disaster governance, operationalise the 2026 Act, and integrate meteorological forecasts into county contingency planning, while combining indigenous knowledge with scientific forecasting to reach last-mile communities.
The 2nd Dialogue Platform, convened by IGAD in partnership with Kenya, brought together IGAD member states, ICPAC, county leaders, UN agencies including OCHA, WFP, IFRC, and civil society.
