A Network of Excellence (NoE) on impact-based Multi-hazard Early Warning Systems and Anticipatory Action across Africa 

In our increasingly interconnected world, the compound, cascading, and systemic nature of risks takes on a new dimension and meaning. Africa is one of the continents predicted to be most adversely affected by climate change due to high levels of exposure to increasingly intense and frequent hazards and their interactions with intrinsic drivers of vulnerability, resulting in compounding and complex risk profiles. For instance, Africa is increasingly subject to droughts, floods, heatwaves, cyclones and other climate-related hazards. State-of-the-art people-centered, impact-based Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems (MHEWS) and Anticipatory Action (AA) have to address this growing complexity. While these approaches are widely recognised, implementation of such systems at different scales, from local, national to regional levels, is still impeded by gaps in knowledge and capacities to act on such knowledge. This includes, for instance, how certain hazards can affect the people and property to be protected (impact-based forecasting), or how to generate and communicate user-focused risk-information and knowledge that enables equitable and gender-responsive risk reduction, and how to define triggers and coordination structures that enable early release of funds in anticipation of impact. This paper will introduce to the Network of Centres of Excellence (NoE) which was initiated by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) in order to contribute to the African-Union led African Multi-Hazard Early Warning and Action System (AMHEWAS) initiative. The aim of the NoE is to enhance the general awareness regarding multi-hazard risks and to strengthen stakeholders’ capacity across national, regional, and continental scales to collect, exchange and analyse risk data and knowledge to adequately inform multi-hazard and impact-based early warning systems and early actions across Africa. The NoE also envisions an integrative, participatory Capacity Development Framework, that incorporates African Indigenous Knowledge Systems, serving towards a general capacity strengthening effort in the region and contributing to the growth of an African-based Community of Practice (CoP) for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Emergency Response Preparedness (ERP) coupled with an effective Science-Policy-Action feedback loop resulting in tangible interventions on the ground from an African perspective.