CREWS Values in Action

Unique: Targeting lifesaving needs

The CREWS initiative supports customized early warning solutions that meet nationally designed needs. CREWS responds to the priority activities articulated by countries. National institutions are engaged from the outset and take the lead on implementation, ensuring country ownership.

Malawi: The ‘Charting a Path to a Resilient Malawi: Climate and Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Symposium,’ held in Blantyre, Malawi, from 9-11 December 2024, marked the conclusion of the Malawi Resilience Disaster Risk Management Project. Hosted by the Government of Malawi and the World Bank, 200 delegates discussed project outcomes, focusing on disaster risk management, resilience building, and climate adaptation. Key topics included integrating hazard data, improving forecasting, and strengthening early warning systems.

The symposium also explored urban resilience and disaster preparedness strategies. Delegates shared regional experiences, emphasizing the need for better coordination among governments, communities and stakeholders, as well as the importance of inclusive early warning systems and community preparedness.

The symposium underscored the shift from reactive disaster response to proactive preparedness, building back better, and the importance of translating lessons into actionable steps with valuable insights for regional collaboration on disaster risk management.

“The training was inspirational. I observed that government is committed to ensuring disaster issues are inclusive and that persons with disabilities are not left out.”

Ethel Matala, Program Manager of the Federation of Disability Organizations in Malawi

UNIQUE: West Africa/ Togo: In January 2024, Togo hosted a training event for 55 agrometeorologists (including 13 women) from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Niger and Togo as well as from the regional centre, AGRHYMET. The training focused on the development and use of crop calendars, and was supported by Fundació Universitat Rovira i Virgili Foundation (URV; see Feature: Partnering across the sectors).

The Togo team developed 4 crop calendars for the Togo Agriculture Sector, each for a different location and according to their different seasons: Lome (bimodal zone for the main rainy season in the south), Niamtougou and Dapaong (for the rainy season in the north) and Tabligbo (for the small season in the south. Following the training, the team from Chad have also set up an operational crop calendar tool.

Feature: Operating in fragile or conflict-affected contexts

The CREWS Initiative is committed to supporting LDCs and SIDS which are experiencing institutional fragility, conflict or violence. These countries often lack robust early warning systems, leaving them disproportionately exposed to hazards due to heightened vulnerabilities, low resilience to (recurrent) shocks and shortfalls in governance¹. Supporting these countries is essential to meet the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) goal of universal coverage by 2027.

To date, CREWS has provided support to nearly 90 percent of the LDCs and SIDS that are eligible for Official Development Assistance and are classified by the World Bank as being affected by fragility or conflict² and it continues to demonstrate successful delivery of programme outcomes despite high risks and uncertainty.

Operations in these complex and dynamic contexts is guided by best practice and lessons learnt across the early warning and early action community, including recent publications from CREWS implementing partners³. Learning also comes from CREWS’ own experience (e.g. Haiti), prompting CREWS to identify a series of operational adjustments that can be made in these contexts to ensure effective project interventions and the implementation of early warning system which meet local needs.⁴ Examples of adjustments include introducing greater flexibility in programme design, management and funding, enhanced risk management and strengthening collaborations with local and international organisations.

Seeing a need to provide more detailed guidance to countries and implementing partners operating in contexts of fragility or conflict, in 2024 and in support of the CREWS initiative, the UNDRR-WMO Center of Excellence for Climate and Disaster Resilience commissioned an Analytical Paper⁵ as a first step towards developing an Operational Procedure on CREWS Programming in fragile or conflict settings.

Haiti: Dynamic risk management
Haiti remains trapped in a multidimensional crisis, marked by political deadlock, gang violence, protests, and severe inflation, all worsening humanitarian needs and hindering efforts to address the situation. This crisis also impacts programme implementation and affects the lives of stakeholders. To mitigate these challenges, the programme ensures national ownership and commitment by fostering strong relationships with key stakeholders through regular engagement, e.g. bi-monthly meetings that begin with a situation update to align everyone on the current status. Programme activities are assessed and prioritized by the National Meteorological Service based on urgent needs, enabling flexible implementation. A key mitigating factor is the ongoing partnership with UNDP Haiti, which strengthens the programme’s impact.

1. Jaime (2024). Page 4. Analytical Paper to guide the development of Operational Procedures on CREWS Programming in FCV settings: https://crews-initiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/workdoc4_19th-Steering-Committee_CREWS_Strenghening-operations-in-FCVs_rev-1.pdf ↩︎
2. World Bank: FY24 List of fragile and conflict affected situations, https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/608a53dd83f21ef6712b5dfef050b00b-0090082023/original/FCSListFY24-final.pdf ↩︎
3. For example, UNDRR-WMO Centre of Excellence for Climate and Disaster Resilience (2024). Early Warning Systems and Early Action in Fragile, Conflict-affected and Violent Contexts: Addressing Growing Climate and Disaster Risks. Geneva: https://www.undrr.org/publication/early-warning-systems-and-early-action-fragile-conflict-affected-and-violent-contexts ↩︎
4. CREWS Strengthening operations in FCVs: https://crews-initiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/workdoc4_19th-Steering-Committee_CREWS_Strenghening-operations-in-FCVs_rev-1.pdf ↩︎
5. Jaime (2024). Analytical Paper to guide the development of Operational Procedures on CREWS Programming in FCV settings: https://crews-initiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/workdoc4_19th-Steering-Committee_CREWS_Strenghening-operations-in-FCVs_rev-1.pdf ↩︎

People-centered: Putting lives and livelihoods first

CREWS puts people at the centre by engaging actively with, and encouraging collaboration between, local level actors for effective impact-based multi-hazard early warning systems that lead to early action.

This approach ensures that local organizations and communities are listened to and engaged so that investments are co-developed and driven by the needs of those dependent on timely and accurate warnings and climate information, especially the people who are most vulnerable to disasters and most at risk from the negative impacts of climate change.

“People” include a wide range of groups that play central and leading roles in our societies, some highly at risk, as well as the institutions representing and providing services to them. They require targeted and adapted information and/or warnings that lead to early action, aiming to leave no-one behind. These at-risk groups may include: women, men, youth, children, especially girls and young women, older persons, persons with disabilities, indigenous people, poor, marginalised and displaced people, people in exposed locations facing context specific, localised hazards, people whose livelihoods depend on climate sensitive natural resources (e.g. farmers, pastoralists), geographically isolated people, people facing cultural, legal or other discrimination, organisations providing vital but at-risk services and more.

To find out more about CREWS’ people-centred approach, please consult the CREWS Guidance Document on People-Centred Risk-Informed Early Warning Systems. Further guidance is available in CREWS Operational Procedures Note No 5 ‘People-Centered Risk-Informed Early Warning Systems’.

Madagascar: With CREWS support the team in Madagascar have translated and distributed a thousand copies of two children’s books which aim to increase awareness of floods and cyclones.

The COPE books are a series of beautifully illustrated not-for-profit books, aimed to increase the disaster resilience of children. They cover natural hazards and provide coping tools, examples of preparedness actions and relatable stories in an imaginative and easy-to-understand way. The books were originally prepared in English and in Madagascar in 2024, the books on floods and cyclones were translated into the local language, Malagasy.
 
Djibouti: A people-centred approach has been taken from the outset of the CREWS Djibouti project, which launched in September 2024. The World Meteorological Organization and the National Red Cross Red Crescent Society of Djibouti conducted a field visit to Boulaos, a commune in the greater Djibouti City area often severely and negatively impacted by major flooding. The mission served as an opportunity to understand and document first-hand the issues currently faced by the community, if and how they are receiving early warnings ahead of hazardous hydrometeorological events, and how they are responding.

This visit provided valuable insights from community leaders and local stakeholders about the increasing frequency of flash floods and their devastating impacts on lives and livelihoods. These local voices emphasized the urgent need for improved coordination between national institutions and local communities to address challenges and to enable anticipatory action.

Speaking passionately about the devastating impact of flood events on the people living in Boulaus, Abdoulkader Iman Aden, the President of the Commune, said:

“Sometimes, entire families have died or been lost… because these people weren’t warned… but this system is a ray of hope for the commune in my opinion… With an early warning system we’ll have to get involved beforehand, go out into the field and warn people, use the law enforcements and thus, limit the loss of lives and damage to property as well.”

Abdoulkader Iman Aden, President of the Commune of Boulaos, Djibouti

See the full video here (in French with subtitles in English): https://wmo.int/media/news/new-crews-project-will-support-early-warnings-djibouti

Haiti: The Civil Protection Communication Department was supported in producing hydro-meteorological hazard awareness boards to raise public awareness of disaster risks. These boards address drought hazards, cyclonic hazards and their four major associated dangers, heavy rains and their consequences, and water management. A set of 41 boards was printed for the inauguration of the DGPC’s new crisis room and the launch of the 2024 cyclone season. The programme will expand the distribution of these boards to four geographical departments: Nippes, Centre, Sud-Est and Grand’Anse.

Gender-responsive: Empowering women and girls

CREWS recognises that the vulnerability of women and men, girls and boys differ as a result of economic, social, physical and environmental contexts. Women and men access and share information differently and their roles in society also vary. For example, in many societies, women are responsible for children and the elderly, so ensuring women receive climate information and warnings protects a larger and more vulnerable segment of the population. Understanding, accepting and respecting gender differences can improve response to warnings by empowering women to protect themselves and others.

CREWS’ approach to gender has evolved over time. From the outset, CREWS encouraged a ‘gender-informed’ approach to ensure that programmes recognised how people’s needs were affected by gender. Later, CREWS adopted ‘gender-sensitive’ as one of its core programming principles. In the context of early warning systems, a gender-sensitive approach recognises that “women’s empowerment is fundamental for building resilience and that men and women access, process, interpret and respond to information and warnings in different ways.”

Working with the Implementing Partners who are all committed to gender equality within their institutions as well as in their service and operations, CREWS is now proud to be advocating for a gender-responsive approach across its portfolio. This aligns CREWS with Key Objective 7 of the Sendai Gender Action Plan which is to “Implement gender-responsive and inclusive end-to-end MHEWS and anticipatory action” ¹.

Crucially, a gender-responsive approach goes beyond simply being aware of gender differences – it actively seeks to address the root causes of gender inequality and promotes gender equality. For example, a gender-responsive approach would ensure ‘gender-equitable participation’ in programme activities and decision-making and ‘gender-equitable access’ to early warning services and the resources required to take effective anticipatory action.

The progression to a ‘gender-responsive’ approach is reflected in the CREWS Theory of Change, the updated Results Framework and in the ongoing review of CREWS Operational Procedures Note No 3 ‘Gender-Sensitive Programming’ which will set out the activities that each programme should take to promote gender equality.

Malawi: In 2024, a gender-sensitive risk assessment was finalised for Mzuzu and Zomba districts. This identified risks, vulnerabilities and local capacities and determined the level of acceptance of risk. A key activity was the revamping and strengthening of Village Civil Protection Committee teams in Zomba and Mzuzu. These community groups help manage disaster risk and are responsible for coordinating disaster risk management at the village level including orientation of Wards Civil Protection Committees, which include representation of women, youths and people living with disability. Based on the findings of the risk assessment, protocols and standard operating procedures were updated and support was also given to the development of community contingency plans.

Somalia and Sudan: Breaking Barriers: Gender and Disability-Responsive Disaster Risk Reduction Training for Sudan

The Training of Trainers Workshop on Gender and Disability-Responsive Implementation of the Sendai Framework took place in Nairobi from 19 to 21 November. Through the training, 13 women and 12 men from Sudan were equipped Sudanese stakeholders with tools to integrate inclusivity into disaster risk reduction. Participants, including policymakers, who explored the disproportionate impact of disasters on women and persons with disabilities, as well as strategies for inclusive disaster risk reduction policies.

Despite ongoing armed conflict in Sudan, the delegation demonstrated remarkable dedication, ensuring their participation and commitment to strengthening disaster risk reduction strategies. Their resilience highlighted the urgency of inclusive disaster preparedness, particularly for conflict-affected populations. Sustained collaboration among stakeholders is essential to ensure no one is left behind in Sudan’s disaster resilience efforts.

Key takeaways included the need for policy reforms, capacity building, and accessible early warning systems. Sudanese participants committed to forming a national working group and advocating for budget allocations supporting inclusive disaster preparedness. Additionally, UNDRR used the feedback from the workshop checklist to develop policy guidelines for inclusive disaster risk reduction.

This training is a movement toward equity in disaster response”

Ahmed, a participant.

Cascading knowledge gained in Somalia

“As the head of the Gender Unit at the Somali Disaster Management Agency (SoDMA), I am proud to share the profound impact of our collaboration with UNDRR through the Gender and Disability Responsive Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Training of Trainers (TOT) in Nairobi. This training has significantly strengthened our ability to integrate gender and disability considerations into disaster preparedness, response, and recovery, ensuring that vulnerable populations—especially women, children, and persons with disabilities—are not left behind.
Following the training, we returned to Somalia and immediately began retraining our staff, cascading the knowledge we gained. This has allowed us to mainstream gender and disability considerations across our operations, making our DRR strategies more inclusive and effective.

Additionally, the policy guidelines developed by UNDRR for mainstreaming the needs of vulnerable groups will provide a crucial framework for our work, shaping our strategies to ensure they respond to the unique needs of marginalized communities.

Thanks to UNDRR’s vital collaboration, SoDMA’s institutional capacity has been greatly strengthened, enabling us to better serve the Somali people and protect those most at risk from the impacts of disasters. This partnership has truly laid the foundation for more resilient communities in Somalia.”

Ms. Halima Yousif, Head of Gender Unit, Somalia Disaster Management Authority

1. UNDRR.  Sendai Gender Action Plan, Promoting gender equality and the leadership of women in disaster risk reduction: https://www.preventionweb.net/sendai-framework/sendai-framework-for-disaster-risk-reduction/SendaiGAP

Solution-orientated: Agile and scalable innovations

CREWS uses innovation and applies agile solutions for transformational and sustainable change. Good and innovative practices are applied and shared continuously across national and regional programmes.

Mali: In Mali, essential forecasts, warnings and key messages are being disseminated to the national and local level through bulletins, TV and radio as well as Mali Meteo’s website, which was upgraded through the ClimWeb package. A social media campaign has also helped to raise awareness of the SOS SECURITE application which facilitates early warning and emergency response. More than 1 million people have downloaded the app so far.

Lao PDR: The LaoDi database, which hosts historical disaster impact records, was restored and made fully operational through the CREWS SouthEast Asia programme, with the final phase of work completed in 2024. With data spanning from 1990 to 2023, the platform is now publicly accessible via LaoDi’s website, offering a valuable resource for disaster risk and vulnerability assessments.

The LaoDi platform has already proved to be crucial for reporting and managing the impacts of multiple tropical cyclones which affected the region in 2024, including Prapiroon, Yagi, and Soulik.

“Lao Disaster Information (LaoDI) System has become a valuable tool since the restoration of its data and functionality. It now supports the development of situation reports and will soon enable dashboard updates for emergencies during disasters. Currently, we use LaoDI for mapping disaster occurrences and generating reports for the Central Disaster Management Committee and other concerned stakeholders.”

Mr. Ting Phonethavy, Technical Officer from the Department of Social Welfare (DSW)
under the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (MoLSW)

Greater Horn of Africa – Somalia: The myDEWETRA platform is a web-based GIS tool developed by the CIMA Foundation and the Italian Civil Protection Department which is being used by the Somali Disaster Management Agency. Through the CREWS Greater Horn of Africa programme, a national configuration of myDEWETRA has been set up in Somalia.

The preliminary configuration allows users to explore global and regional products which are available in real time and as past scenarios. Products which are of particular interest in Somalia include observations of rainfall and drought as well as essential forecasting products, including numerical weather prediction data from the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasting and outputs from the Global Flood Awareness System to inform hydrological forecasts. Training sessions in the coming months will ensure that disaster risk management and hydromet stakeholders can make the most of the platform whilst fostering collaboration and improving access to, and sharing of, essential national geospatial data and information to aid decision-making.

Feature: Open-source Digital Tools

A suite of new open-source digital tools has been developed and is being rolled out across West Africa. The tools have been co-developed by the WMO (led by the WMO Regional Office for Africa) and NORCAP ¹, together with technical teams from NMHS through the ClimWeb Community, following an agile, bottom-up approach. This digital transformation aims to strengthen NMHSs’ ability to predict extreme weather events, issue timely warnings, and protect vulnerable populations.

The hosting of the ClimWeb content management system, CAP-composer (to issue warnings in the format of the Common Alerting Protocol) and WIS2box was initiated in Guinea Bissau and Togo and by the end of 2024, the tools had been adopted by more West African countries, namely: Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, The Gambia, Ghana, Mali and Niger.

Within this package, ClimWeb and other digital climate tools (e.g. WIS2box) are revolutionising how information is collected, analysed and shared, including the integration of local data. Meanwhile, the embedded CAP-composer enables NMHS to issue CAP warnings to their citizens and through the AMHEWAS network ensuring that the regional/ continental situation is based on national data. CREWS has supported the rollout of ClimWeb through training events (for example on WIS2 in November 2024 in Casablanca, Morocco) and by supporting the hosting of ClimWeb, either through the provision of physical servers or a cloud-based solution depending on the local context.

By the end of 2024, ClimWeb has been rolled out to 17 African nations, including countries covered by CREWS Horn of Africa (Ethiopia and Sudan), CREWS East Africa (Burundi and South Sudan) and CREWS SWIO (Seychelles), CREWS country projects (Democratic Republic of Congo and Malawi) and also to countries not directly supported by CREWS (e.g. Zimbabwe).

In all of these countries, ClimWeb is revolutionising how citizens can access weather and climate information, for example, through geo-referenced forecast visualisations and other content that is locally configured to meets users’ needs. The system also enables hazard forecasts to be displayed as overlays on local data relating to exposure and vulnerability, providing local decision-makers with a more comprehensive picture of the risks that hazards present.

In addition, ClimWeb provides NMHSs with website analytics about how users are interacting with their website which can inform future plans. CimWeb also has an Application Programming Interface for integrating content into mobile applications. Read more about the package of digital tools through the CREWS Impact Story.

1. Norwegian Capacity to international relations (NORCAP) is a global provider of expertise to the humanitarian, development and peace-building sectors which is part of the Norwegian Refugee Council and funded by the Norwegian government.

Multiplier: Leveraging resources for maximum impact

CREWS programmes provide long-term investments targeting improvements in policies, institutions and programme design within the countries where it operates. Across the CREWS portfolio, the country programmes promote a favourable environment for, and leveraging of, effective additional financing and action, thereby ensuring that CREWS interventions are relevant beyond the influence of its own programmes.

In support of the programming principle of leveraging resources, CREWS has also developed strong partnerships with climate finance institutions, for example with the Green Climate Fund (GCF). The GCF Simplified Approval Process (SAP)-CREWS Scaling Up Framework for Early Warning enables countries with demonstrably successful and scalable CREWS programmes to scale up their activities with GCF resources of up to USD 25 million. (See also Feature: GCF Simplified Approval Process (SAP)-CREWS Scaling Up Framework).

Global Observatory for Early Warning Investments: Key to leveraging resources is understanding the broader landscape of available financing as well as the gaps. Developed by UNDRR and WMO with CREWS support, the Global Observatory provides a unified framework to track and understand the investments made by multilateral actors, identifying financing gaps and fostering collaboration among stakeholders.

The Observatory’s main goal is to help early warning system stakeholders make informed decisions by revealing who is investing in early warnings, where the funds are going, what actions they support, and where the gaps are.

As of the end of 2024, the Observatory tracks 324 projects in 127 countries and is fed by self-reported data by 9 Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and climate funds ¹, this data was analysed by WMO and UNDRR against a common taxonomy for tracking early warning investments and this analysis was validated by the MDBs and climate funds. This data provides some indication of overall trends in the financing of early warning. However, it does not have the granularity needed for regional or country programming.

Strengthening Climate Resilience in the DRC: How CREWS is Transforming Hydromet Systems: The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is making significant strides in enhancing its hydrometeorological capabilities, thanks in large part to CREWS. By bolstering technical capacity and mobilizing expertise at local, regional and international levels, CREWS has played a pivotal role in securing investments and advancing critical early warning systems, including:

• Unlocking USD 8 million for the Projet de Renforcement des Services Hydrométéorologiques et Climatiques de la RDC (HYDROMET-RDC, P159217). CREWS enabled the DRC government to leverage investment to strengthen national early warning data infrastructure and improve alert protocols for targeted cities, making communities more resilient to climate hazards.
• Informing the USD 100 million Kananga Emergency Urban Resilience Project (PURUK, P179292) where technical experts are working alongside the government to mitigate flood and erosion risks and enhance climate risk management at both the provincial and city levels.
• Shaping the USD 200 million Urban Flood Resilience Project (PRIUR, P508410 – in preparation). Building on CREWS-led assessments for Kinshasa, Bukavu, Uvira and Kalemie, PRIUR will fortify flood early warning systems, enhance emergency preparedness and support critical flood reduction infrastructure like drainage systems.

Chad: A Ready-to-Respond (R2R) diagnostic is underway for multiple hazards (including floods, heat and drought). Accounting for recent achievements in early warning systems as a result of CREWS support, it will include next steps for better response and an investment program, part of which is expected to be picked up by the PILIER and the RESITCHAD projects.

A detailed flood model for N’Djamena was financed and has played a critical role in organising flood response in 2024 and identifying priority flood protection investments. Dissemination within Chadian institutions has started and next steps include training of agents at the national meteorological and hydrological institutions. There will also be discussion on how best to use the R2R recommendations and how it may be applied beyond the capital’s administrative boundaries.

Under PILIER, USD 10M are allocated to improving Emergency Preparedness and Response with a focus on upgrading existing early warning systems, capacity building and material upgrading of the NMHS to enhance forecasting accuracy, timeliness, and operationalization.

1. Data from the following MDBs is included in the Global Observatory: World  Bank, Green Climate Fund, Global Environment Facility, Adaptation Fund, African Development Bank, Inter American Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, CREWS and the Systematic Observations Financing Facility.

Feature: GCF Simplified Approval Process (SAP)-CREWS Scaling Up Framework

The Simplified Approval Process (SAP) Pilot Scheme supports projects and programmes with minimal to no environmental and social risks through a GCF contribution of up to USD 25 million. Projects and programmes are eligible for SAP if they are ready for scaling up and have the potential for transformation, promoting a paradigm shift to low-emission and climate-resilient development.

Specifically, the GCF-SAP-CREWS Scaling Up Framework aims to scale-up CREWS investments by building on programmes that have produced and show evidence of successful results, are scalable and where high demand exists (CREWS, 2023, p. 5).

The framework covers several interrelated dimensions – quantitative, functional and institutional” (ibid, p. 5). The eligibility criteria are closely aligned with both the current GCF and CREWS value propositions and the process of operationalization takes account of both GCF and CREWS processes of programming and project design, preparation, review, and approvals in line with the existing standards and procedures.

To date, 7 countries have initiated the preparation of SAPs of up to USD 25 million each: Belize, Trinidad and Tobago, Togo, Haiti, Cambodia, Lao PDR and Fiji. Togo has led the way and submitted to GCF in January 2025. One early lesson learnt is the need for robust information to provide evidence of the potential for scale up. In this regard, the new CREWS MEAL is showing its value by helping countries to identify and quantify the functional and institutional results that can be built on, replicated and financed by through the GCF-SAP (see Feature: Reporting with confidence).

Strengthening the resilience of vulnerable communities within high climatic and disaster risk areas in Togo: The Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board has just approved the first-ever single-country project in Togo within the GCF portfolio (SAP048). This milestone project, valued at USD 27 million, will enhance the country’s preparedness for climate change and disaster risks by establishing a fit-for-purpose Climate Information and Early Warning System.

By focusing on people-centered climate information services, impact-based multi-hazard early warning systems and investments in disaster risk reduction and early action mechanisms, this initiative will directly and indirectly benefit 9.3 million people across Togo.

Aligned with key international frameworks – including the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, WMO’s Global Framework for Climate Services, and the UN’s Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative – this project is a major step forward in strengthening climate resilience in the region.

The project was developed under the GCF-SAP CREWS Scaling Up Framework for Early Warning, reinforcing global efforts to enhance early warning capabilities worldwide. Looking ahead, we expect to see more projects approved under the scaling-up framework by GCF and CREWS initiative, further expanding access to life-saving climate information and early warning systems worldwide.

Partners: World Meteorological Organization, Green Climate Fund (GCF) and Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement (BOAD, a GCF Accredited Entity)

Promotes coherence: Aligning and adding value

CREWS promotes programmatic alignment between the Implementing Partners and their respective expertise, networks of partners and ongoing programmes and operations. By considering existing projects and other international partner initiatives CREWS ensure that its programmes build on, and complement, existing interventions to ensure a coherent approach is taken to address national and regional priority needs. In particular, CREWS promotes coherence and coordination between organisations, programmes and initiatives focusing on climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction and sustainable development.

Through its Implementing Partners, CREWS programmes are already aligned with and/ or benefitting from the outputs, programmes and initiatives, for example:

• World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, especially its work to strengthen Hydromet Services and Early Warning Systems ¹
• WMO’s flagship programmes and systems including: Severe Weather Forecasting Programme, Tropical Cyclone Programme and the Flash Flood Guidance System.
• The Systematic Observations Financing Facility and related assessments and interventions to address gaps in the Global Basic Observations Network.

Partnership working is an important mechanism for promoting coherence and coordination:

• At a global level, CREWS is actively engaged in numerous partnerships, including the Alliance for Hydromet Development (which CREWS joined in 2024) and the Risk-informed Early Action Partnership as well as groups with a financial focus, such as the InsuResilience Global Partnership and the Global Shield Against Climate Risks as well as Multi-lateral Development Banks like the GCF.
• At a regional level, CREWS programmes are delivered with the support and engagement of regional centres (e.g. WMO Regional Specialized Meteorological Centers), associations and development communities (e.g. African Union, the Economic Community of Central African States, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, East Africa Community and the Southern African Development Community, the Indian Ocean Commission, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and the Caribbean Community) and associated initiatives (e.g. Weather Ready Pacific).

To achieve impact at both the local level and at scale, CREWS and its Implementing Partners also partner with the private, academic and civil sectors. Indeed, CREWS has developed operational procedures on Private Sector Engagement to help countries and Implementing Partners make the most of the opportunity that such partnership can bring (see Feature: Partnering across the sectors).

Central Africa: The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) Situation Room was made operational in 2024. This is the Central African component of the Africa Multi-Hazard Early Warning and Early Action System (AMHEWAS) network. The network was launched with contributions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), and with the technical and scientific support of CIMA Research Foundation.

An important recent development within the wider AMHEWAS network is the availability of national warnings issued using the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP). The roll out of ClimWeb has enabled many countries to implement and sustain CAP warnings and these can be brought together to form a regional picture based on the warnings and alerts issued by national institutions (see Feature: Open-source Digital Tools).

Greater Horn of Africa: In December 2024 experts from disaster management, meteorology and hydrology authorities from across the Greater Horn of Africa region gathered to address the transboundary challenges posed by drought and flood. Organized by UNDRR in collaboration with the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) and supported by the CREWS Greater Horn of Africa programme, the event forged stronger collaboration between countries and regional that share transboundary risks to strengthen early warning systems. The 25 participants, including 3 women, worked towards developing a draft framework for transboundary cooperation, establishing a foundation for real-time data exchange and coordinated risk management efforts. Discussions on information-sharing protocols marked a critical step in creating a cohesive platform for disaster risk data, while sessions strengthened technical capacities in flood and drought modeling.

Transboundary Risks required that partners break the walls and barriers by working together across the board and on aspects of transboundary cooperation and collaboration.”

Benjamin Ssekamuli, Hydrologist, Uganda

Niger: Building on relationships built during Niger 1.0 and other projects (e.g. the World Bank’s West Africa Food System and Resilience Program), CREWS Niger 2.0 is working with national authorities whilst also collaborating with regional centres based in Niamey and the University of Niamey.

The scoping mission laid the groundwork for the implementation of activities under this programme, for example, supporting national authorities to understand and use the Niger Disaster Risk Profile. It also catalysed an increased level of interaction and collaboration between the national meteorological and early warning entities and the regional centres, especially the African Center of Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD) and the AGRHYMET CCR-AOS (Regional Climatic Center for West Africa and Sahel).

A focus for the project is the establishment of a disaster damage and loss database to inform risk-informed decision-making. The database leverages harmonized data collection and analysis, integrating data from the regional information system at AGRHYMET CCR-AOS which is setting up a regional watchroom for extreme climate events with support of the CREWS Niger 2.0.

1. WB-GFDRR. Hydromet Services and Early Warning Systems: https://www.gfdrr.org/en/hydromet-services-and-early-warning-systems

Feature: Partnering across the sectors

Partnering with the academic and private sectors
Partnerships have been an important vehicle for the delivery of programmes in the West Africa region and this has included working with the academic sector and entering into agreements with the private sector.

Agrometeorologists from across the West Africa region have received training in the development and use of crop calendars from the Foundation of Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV). Training resources have been developed in French and will be made available in other languages in the future. Togo has also received support from Brigham Young University (BYU) in terms of capacity building on hydrological data management and flood forecasting.

In relation to CREWS West Africa, the WMO also established a partnership agreement with a commercial entity, SEPIA Conseils. SEPIA is a consulting engineering firm that specialises in flood forecasting and management of the water cycle. The focus of the arrangement was to develop a methodological framework for urban flood forecasting, which is under implementation in several World Bank funded projects including in Burkina Faso, Chad and Togo.

Delivering with the civil sector
Partnership for Development of Kampuchea (PADEK) is a Cambodian NGO working to assist disadvantaged rural communities to improve their livelihoods and quality of life. It has been working closely with the National Committee for Disaster Management in Cambodia to lead the Community-based Flood Management Activities in Cambodia with support from the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre, including the development of the Community-based Flood Management Manual. (See also CREWS in Asia-Pacific).

Feature: Implementing EW4All

CREWS is a key delivery vehicle to kick-start or drive forward Early Warnings for All (EW4All) in countries and regions. It is continuously learning and adapting its operations to meet the needs of LDCs and SIDS. In relation to EW4All, CREWS has updated the Accreditation Framework to enable the ITU and IFRC – leads of EW4All Pillars 3 and 4 respectively – to join the World Bank, UNDRR (Pillar 1 lead) and WMO (Pillar 2 lead) as CREWS implementing partners (see Feature: Expanding with confidence).

CREWS has also made progress on implementing several decisions noted in the CREWS Annual Report 2023, for example, ensuring that funding decisions on new programmes and interventions from its pipeline list are informed by data on the 30 EW4All kick-off countries, among other pertinent sources, and knowledge of the pipeline countries of other early warning partners (e.g. GCF and the Systematic Observations Financing Facility). Furthermore, the new CREWS MEAL Framework is aligned with the Theory of Change for EW4All and in the future, CREWS will draw on the Early Warning Maturity Index as an indicator through which the impact of its CREWS investments can be assessed.

Consolidating on the work, an accelerator programme was launched in 2024 (see Programme in Focus: EW4All multi-stakeholder accelerator in LDCs and SIDS). However, many other programmes across the CREWS portfolio have been achieving specific EW4All outcomes – including the development of EW4All Roadmaps and Action Plans, for example in Mozambique and in Southeast Asia.

Southeast Asia: Development of EW4All Roadmaps
The CREWS Initiative-funded project in Cambodia and Lao PDR supported the development of the EW4All roadmaps in both countries. In Lao PDR, CREWS supported the coordination and consultation activities with government ministries, UN agencies, international and local NGOs, civil society organizations and the private sector. The EW4All roadmap for Lao PDR was endorsed in August 2024 and a roadmap for Cambodia has been produced and validated. In Cambodia, the Roadmap has been translated into Khmer in preparation for government endorsement in 2025.

Programme in Focus: EW4All multi-stakeholder accelerator in LDCs and SIDS

The programme’s primary objectives are to scale up and strengthen national Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems efforts through the implementation of the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) Initiative. The programme is providing support to accelerate EW4All on a global level, with a special focus on 7 countries: Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Nepal, Tonga, Solomon Islands and Kiribati.

EW4All (Nepal): People-centred/ Solution-oriented: With the assistance of the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology of Nepal, a team from WMO visited Kathmandu in October 2024¹. The visit included a field visit to assess the impacts of, and learn lessons from, the severe flooding in late September which was triggered by heavy monsoon rains. The WMO team met local communities, leaders and members of the national agencies. Stakeholders, including staff from the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology,highlighted several key areas for improvement, including the implementation of a tailored impact-based flood forecasting system at the national level as well as improving warning dissemination, e.g. through the implementation of the Common Alerting Protocol (planned for 2025). At the community level, impacts could be reduced by educating vulnerable groups about the impacts of flooding, how and where to receive warnings, and what actions to take should flooding suddenly occur. This will be through a workshop in 2025.

EW4All (Solomon Islands): Unique/ People-centred: The Flag Early Warning System for Small Crafts project is led by the Solomon Islands Meteorological Service and has been supported through the CREWS EW4All Accelerator. It includes the installation of EW marine flags around the main ports of the Solomon Islands to warn fishermen of hazardous weather. Aside from the installation of the flags, a key activity is the work within local communities to increase awareness of marine risks and to build capacity so that they know how to be informed and what actions to take in case of hazardous weather. The Flag Early Warning System project covers 6 sites: Lata and Tuwo (on Reef Island), both in Temotu Province, Kirakira in Makira Province, Komiko (on West Honiara) in Guadalcanal Province, Tulagi in Central Province and Gizo in Western Province.

1. WMO (2024). Improved Flood Preparedness and Community-based Early Warnings Needed in Nepal: https://wmo.int/media/magazine-article/improved-flood-preparedness-and-community-based-early-warnings-needed-nepal