From early warning to early action in Somalia

What can we learn to support early action to mitigate humanitarian crises?

This paper looks at how Somalia's early-warning, early-action trigger mechanism, which was initiated in the aftermath of the 2011 famine, has functioned during the 2016/7 drought crisis response. The paper uncovers a widespread consensus about the value of the tool and explores the challenges involved in developing the dashboard, generating support and putting in place an accountability framework.

It looks for learning around the effectiveness of such tools, which could potentially support similar models in other countries. This paper also highlights suggestions from a range of stakeholders regarding actions that might support greater buy-in to the dashboard and broader collaboration at all levels, helping ensure the mechanism meets its aim of facilitating decision making for early action, thereby better protecting the people of Somalia.