The WMO Regional Office for Africa (RAF) and AUC in collaboration with Partners gathered in a Write Shop in Bishoftu, Ethiopia, from 20-22 June 2023 to prepare a regional action plan for Early Warning for All (EW4ALL) 2023 – 2027.

The three-day sessions evaluated the existing early warning initiatives and projects in Africa and identified gaps, challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned in early warning systems. It proceeded to develop a focused, actionable, and consolidated Early Warning for All (EW4All) action plan for Africa. The group, supported and endorsed by all partner organizations, deliberated on the enhancement, coordination, reinforcement of networks, and establishment of collaborative working mechanisms for the effective implementation of the action plan. The forum engaged all key stakeholders involved in early warning systems in Africa to provide valuable input and ensured a comprehensive and inclusive action plan.

In his opening remarks at the sitting, the Chair Task Team on EW4All Action Plan and Vice President of Regional Association I (RA I), Dr Aderito Aramuge, said the UNSG expects that by 2027 all countries in the world should have a working Early Warning Systems. Since climate extremes will get a lot worse, early warning mechanisms can serve as a road to Adaptation and contribute to saving lives if well-coordinated with well-developed policies.

Also speaking during the opening session, the representative of the Africa Union Commission and Technical Coordinator for Disaster Risk Reduction, Mr Gatkuoth Kai, said the need to develop early warning systems is an important priority of the AUC. According to him, in 2017, AUC undertook a process to develop the Africa Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), which indicated a rise in disaster risk and a corresponding increase in intervention measures.  With support from UNDRR and the Government of Italy, AUC embarked on several initiatives leading to the articulation of the first phase of the Africa Multi-hazard Early Warning and Early Action Systems (AMHEWAS); an ambitious programme on the continent, support by IGAD, ECOWAS and now SADC, he added.

Several ongoing initiatives in Africa related to early warning were highlighted vis a vis extreme events in the region, such as floods, drought, sandstorms, tropical cyclones, heatwaves etc. that affect food security and population displacement.

Participants observed the linkage between EW4ALL and AMHEWAS, already endorsed at the Heads of State level and other agencies and stressed that EWS should be user-driven and, therefore, should be designed along users' needs with recommended actions.

At the end of the three-day write-shop, the group developed a structured free document and agreed to have a short paragraph at the beginning of each pillar.
As part of the way forward, the Group agreed to finalize the action plan online and share it with the high-level for review. The final paper is expected to be launched during the Climate Summit.

Participants at the Write Shop for Early Warning for All (EW4ALL) Africa Action Plan (2023 – 2027) 20-22 June 2023