THE EUROPEAN – SECURITY AND DEFENCE UNION
Forecast-based financing: a new chapter in humanitarian aid
Reducing the impact of climate damage by Bärbel Dieckmann, President of Welthungerhilfe, Bonn
P
eople in poor countries are particularly affected by natural disasters. The poor are the main victims of droughts, hurricanes or floods, all of which can destroy harvests, infrastructure and livelihoods, increase prices for foodstuffs, and force people to flee their homes.
early action, following early warning, would have reduced the scale of the disaster and the impact on people and livestock.
Disaster risk financing allows rapid help
To break the pattern of ex post or reactive humanitarian aid and to lobby for a paradigm shift in the humanitarian financing system towards ex ante or early response to disaster risk, WelPrevention is key thungerhilfe and partners are developing a replicable standard. After a disaster hits, people and communities are often left to Named the Forecast based Financing (FbF) mechanism, it enafend for themselves, without external support. Maintaining the bles funds to be immediately available when a physical drought status quo of reactive (ex post) response to disasters results begins, before humanitarian impacts are felt. Earlier aid will in slow reaction times, often driven more by political will and save costs in comparison with a traditional response, and leads media attention than by actual needs. This way of working is to a reduction of loss and damage. inefficient and expensive. If, in addition, man-made climate Disaster risk financing is not a catch-all change ensures that extreme weather solution for humanitarian response and events occur more frequently and their it does not replace resilience work or disdestructive effects are intensified, then Bärbel Dieckmann aster risk reduction. Local authorities and neither the capacities of the countries has held the position of honorary president local actors should be prepared in good concerned, developed or not, nor the of Welthungerhilfe since 2008. She studtime for unavoidable extreme events, efforts of humanitarian aid are sufficient ied philosophy, history and social sciences such as severe drought, so that its effects to meet these challenges. at the University of Bonn and was a teacher do not destroy lives and livelihoods. And Here an old principle that applies to between 1974 and 1995. A member of it does not render development or hualmost all areas of life comes into play: the SPD since 1972, she was a member manitarian aid superfluous. Both remain prevention is better than repairing the of the party executive from 1999 to 2009. necessary. Disaster risk financing enables damages after the fact. But who helps Her political activities have focused on the period between crisis prediction and finance prevention? Development environmental and development policy crisis occurrence in the case of sudden assistance considers risks from the loss as well as youth, family welfare and edonset situations, or between crisis occurof crops, soil erosion or price drops. ucation policy. Ms Dieckmann was mayor rence and humanitarian suffering in slow However, funds are often not available of Bonn from 1994 to 2009. onset situations, to be used more effecto prevent a disaster. Humanitarian aid, tively. Funding for drought through the on the other hand, typically responds to FbF mechanism can inject money into the the consequences of a disaster; usually crisis response up to 6 months before a traditional humanitariproviding immediate lifesaving aid after an earthquake, cyclone an response, because there is no need to wait until suffering is or an extreme period of drought. tangible to attract donor funds. They have been pre-committed and are available the moment the model signals a drought of a From early warning to early action particular threshold. Government agencies, the UN, NGOs, and other local organisations usually warn of an imminent disaster weeks or even months in advance. Quite often, early warning systems and How forecast-based financing works organisations like Welthungerhilfe or its partners sound the Forward-looking action requires contingency plans, which can alarm in good time. However, nothing is done to address the be elaborated in more detailed implementation plans if the impending crisis. No early action follows the early warning. model is triggered. Activities for early action for drought could There is not an abundance of money, and therefore no measinclude: school meals for children, animal feed to protect liveures are taken. Particularly in the case of a slow-onset crisis stock, and cash transfers for families to buy food. This menu of such as a drought, major donors only release the necessary possible activities forms the basis of the Standard Operating funds after dramatic images of starving children and dying Procedures (SOPs). Activities such as these, if provided early, animals reach the mainstream media, and even then, what is can help families maintain their livelihoods in the lean season made available is often too little, too late. In such a scenario, and reduce negative coping strategies such as pulling children
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