Forecasting hazards, averting disasters

4.1   Dedicated FbA funds and funding 

windows

Dedicated forecast-based and contingency funds have 

been established under some initiatives. These can be 

stand-alone funds or part of emergency funds set aside 

specifically for FbA. The German Federal Foreign Office 

has established a fund that can be accessed by its partners 

using a standard operating procedure that includes a 

forecast-based finance trigger. WFP’s FoodSECuRE 

programme includes a pilot fund with forecast-based 

triggers linked to contingency plans. The risk financing 

mechanism of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme 

allows the programme to be scaled up based on early 

warning information evaluated by a national committee. 

Windows in existing wider funds have been established 

that can be triggered by forecast-based triggers and 

processes. One example is the Start Fund’s Anticipation 

Window, which functions with higher levels of 

uncertainty than the parent fund but based on a robust 

decision-making process. Scaling up social protection 

based on an early warning has been trialled with the 

Kenya Hunger Safety Net Programme. This involves 

accessing a separate funding source, rather than funds 

allocated for emergencies. The pilot was funded by the 

UK Department for International Development (DFID), 

with the expectation that, in the long term, the Kenyan 

government will contribute financial support. The concept 

is gaining in popularity, and similar mechanisms are being 

established across Africa and elsewhere to quickly scale 

up public social protection systems based on forecasts or 

early warnings. The Mongolian government has recently 

set aside 1.5% of all national government budgets to 

reducing disaster risk. Some of this will go to early action, 

for instance through the prepositioning of emergency 

hay reserves for herders, triggered by a seasonal climate 

forecast. The International Federation of Red Cross 

and Red Crescent Societies has established a Forecast-

based Financing Window as part of the Disaster Relief 

Emergency Fund (DREF), to be used for forecast-based 

action, and FAO has created an Early Action window 

within its SFERA emergency fund to support trigger-based 

mitigation and prevention activities.