The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has urged East African countries to invest in early disaster response, warning that delayed financing and failure to act on forecasts continue to expose communities to avoidable losses.
IGAD Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu said governments and development partners must ensure resources are available before disasters strike, instead of waiting until lives, livelihoods and infrastructure have been destroyed.
Speaking in Mombasa on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, during the Second Eastern Africa Dialogue Platform on Anticipatory Action, Gebeyehu said the region continued to experience interconnected threats, including drought, floods, conflict, economic pressures and public health emergencies.
“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,” he said.
The meeting brings together representatives of IGAD member states, United Nations agencies, humanitarian organisations, development partners and civil society to strengthen regional preparedness and improve how governments respond to emerging risks.
Gebeyehu said early warning systems would have limited impact if forecasts did not trigger timely decisions and the release of funds to communities facing imminent threats.
“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.
He called for anticipatory action to be integrated into government policies, national budgets, disaster risk management frameworks and development plans, arguing that short-term projects alone could not provide sustainable protection.
The IGAD chief said the region had made progress since the first Eastern Africa Dialogue Platform was held in Mombasa in 2024, including the development of national anticipatory action roadmaps and improved coordination through the Regional Technical Working Group on Anticipatory Action.
However, he challenged member states to move beyond pilot projects and establish permanent systems that enable early interventions to be implemented at scale.
“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,” Gebeyehu said.
He urged governments to strengthen the role of local authorities and communities in disaster preparedness, noting that people living in vulnerable areas were often the first to experience the effects of extreme weather.
Gebeyehu said women, young people, pastoralist communities and displaced populations should participate meaningfully in decisions affecting their safety and livelihoods.
He also called for predictable financing that can be released when agreed risk thresholds are reached, enabling governments to protect vulnerable households before conditions deteriorate into humanitarian emergencies.
“Every dollar spent early can save several dollars in losses and response costs,” he said, stressing that anticipatory action could preserve development gains and reduce the financial burden of post-disaster recovery.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen echoed the call for a shift from reactive disaster management to prevention, saying Kenya was working to embed anticipatory action into national and county government systems.
Murkomen said climate-related disasters were becoming more frequent, severe and unpredictable, increasing pressure on public institutions and communities across Eastern Africa.
He cited estimates showing that 48.5 million people in the region required humanitarian assistance as of December 2025.
“Disaster management can no longer be treated as an isolated, purely reactive humanitarian duty,” Murkomen said.
The Cabinet Secretary said Kenya's preparedness framework was anchored in the Disaster Risk Management Act, 2026, the Disaster Risk Financing Strategy for 2026 to 2030, the Kenya Anticipatory Action Roadmap for 2024 to 2029 and the National Framework for Climate Services.
He said the government intended to strengthen financing arrangements and integrate anticipatory interventions into contingency budgets and social protection systems.
“Anticipatory action cannot scale if financing arrives only after destruction has occurred,” Murkomen said.
He also urged development partners, international financial institutions and the private sector to provide predictable and flexible financing that supports government-led initiatives.
Murkomen said national and county governments needed clear responsibilities, reliable risk information and sufficient resources to act before emergencies escalated.
The government was also integrating indigenous knowledge with scientific forecasting to ensure warnings reached vulnerable communities in forms they could understand and act upon.
The Cabinet Secretary committed Kenya to making anticipatory action a core function of national and county disaster risk governance and fully operationalising the Disaster Risk Management Act, 2026.
He urged delegates at the three-day dialogue to agree on practical measures to strengthen shared risk information, harmonise early action triggers and improve cross-border cooperation.
The discussions are expected to focus on building regional systems that allow governments to act earlier, coordinate responses and mobilise financing before disasters cause irreversible damage.