ISLAMABAD: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has launched the Anticipatory Action (AA) Strategy to strengthen forecast-based early action, institutional coordination and resilience against climate-induced hazards.

The launch took place at the NDMA headquarters on Monday during a National Dialogue Platform. Anticipatory action enables timely interventions based on scientific forecasts and risk analysis, helping reduce humanitarian and economic impacts before disasters occur.

With climate-induced hazards, including floods, heatwaves, droughts and disease outbreaks becoming increasingly frequent and intense, strengthening anticipatory systems has emerged as a national priority.

The World Food Programme (WFP), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Welthungerhilfe (WHH), Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) are also collaborating with the NDMA.

NDMA Chairman Lt Gen Inam Haider Malik underscored the importance of disaster-risk reduction standards and trigger-based anticipatory actions to build a disaster resilience regime in Pakistan under NDMA’s Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy (NDRRS) 2025-2030.

He emphasised that anticipatory actions need to be activated to reduce disaster risks and minimise humanitarian and economic losses. He highlighted that timely preparedness, early warning dissemination and coordinated institutional response are essential to protecting vulnerable communities from the increasing impacts of climate-induced hazards.

He further reiterated NDMA’s commitment to strengthen a proactive and resilient disaster management framework in Pakistan. The dialogue platform provided an opportunity for stakeholders to exchange knowledge, share best practices and review lessons learned from previous anticipatory action initiatives.

Discussions focused on improving coordination mechanisms, harmonising sectoral approaches and institutionalising anticipatory action within Pakistan’s disaster risk management framework.

The platform further emphasised the integration of anticipatory action into national and provincial planning processes, while exploring sustainable financing mechanisms, including public funding and climate finance.

During the opening session of the Dialogue Platform, WFP Country Director Coco Ushiyama, Head of Pakistan Office of the German Red Cross and PRCS representative Asif Aman Khan, FAO Pakistan Deputy Country Representative Leonor Fernandez and Welthungerhilfe Pakistan Deputy Country Director Isabel Bogorinsky highlighted the importance of strengthening collaborative approaches towards anticipatory action.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2026