The United Kingdom has given £2.1 million ($2.8 million) to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) to expand anticipatory action in South Sudan, so that vulnerable communities can prepare for forecast climate shocks before the worst of them arrives, WFP said on 30 October.
South Sudan faces a complex threat that includes El Niño-related drought and floods. The two agencies will carry out anticipatory flood work in Jonglei, Unity and Upper Nile states: early-warning support, cash assistance before floods, livelihood protection, labour-intensive public works and prepositioned humanitarian supplies.
The programme runs until March 2027 in three parts. Assistance tied to agreed triggers will reach at-risk households before floods strike; community early-warning systems will give families timely information to take preventive steps; and where no pre-agreed flood triggers exist, hydrological observations, expert analysis and vulnerability assessments will guide early action. Coordination with the government is central to it.
"For millions of South Sudanese, agriculture is their primary source of food and income, and climate shocks threaten both," said Felix Dzvurumi, FAO Representative a.i. in South Sudan, adding that FAO is turning early warnings into action that helps farmers, livestock keepers and fishing communities protect their livelihoods. "We cannot prevent every drought or flood, but we can stop predictable shocks becoming humanitarian catastrophes," said Mutinta Chimuka, WFP Country Director. Sebastian Fouquet, development director in South Sudan for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, said the aim is to reach families before a crisis peaks and help them protect their livestock, food and assets.
Anticipatory action uses climate data, forecasts and early-warning systems so that communities and aid agencies move before predictable hazards turn into emergencies. The grant is part of the UK Humanitarian Crisis Fund's support for anticipatory action, which brings UK funding for El Niño preparedness in South Sudan to more than £2.85 million, about £750,000 of it to the THRIVE consortium.
Photo: Oxfam East Africa / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Source: WFP
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