Malawi anticipatory action: Process learning on trigger development

This report offers lessons on the process of developing the trigger for the Malawi Anticipatory Action Framework and captures lessons on how AA pilots are being designed and implemented in real time. This allows OCHA to document the benefits and challenges of developing AA frameworks, as well as learning on assumptions about the logic of AA. The learning cycle is intended to support the increasing quality of AA plans and (in the event a trigger is reached) effective implementation. In this case, the trigger has not been reached as of February 2022, limiting performance assessment.

Building on growing evidence that acting prior to the onset of predictable shocks is significantly faster, more dignified, and more cost effective than traditional humanitarian response, UN OCHA has been facilitating the setup of multiple anticipatory action frameworks, including this one in Malawi. In October 2021, following close to a year of design and development, the dry-spell framework for anticipatory action in Malawi was endorsed for the 2021/2022 season. The objective of the framework is to mitigate the impact of dry-spell events on vulnerable, at-risk individuals and communities in Malawi, through collective, cross-sectoral anticipatory action.