Acting ahead
To put anticipatory actions into motion efficiently once thresholds are met and funds are released, partner organizations need to be operationally ready.
The direction is clear: partners are not only acting in anticipation, they are shaping the future of AHA, transforming lessons into leadership and strengthening the systems that make AHA possible.
At the same time, the path to AHA still faces delays. Long chains of approvals, from the German Federal Foreign Office through WHH, INGOs, and local partners, have slowed implementation. While many organizations have streamlined their internal processes, the chain itself remains long, making realistic timelines and coordinated decision-making essential.
AHA is gaining real traction. Several partners are stepping up as leaders in acting in anticipation. Working groups were pro-actively formed and partners focused on their organizational readiness and operationalization of AAPs.
Coordinated Planning for Anticipatory Humanitarian Action
Strong planning is the backbone of Anticipatory Humanitarian Action. WAHAFA supports partners to turn forecasts into Anticipatory Action Plans that are anchored in existing disaster management structures, with clear triggers and roles.
While staff turnover, fragmented models, and political challenges still limit sustainability, enabling factors such as active working groups, flexible donors, diverse funding streams, and local ownership have accelerated progress: countries are increasingly planning together, strengthening coordination, and laying the groundwork for AHA that is coherent, collaborative, and built to last.
WAHAFA’s capacity-sharing sessions helped strengthen understanding and readiness, and as partners gained confidence, Build applications improved significantly. Collaboration with governments, meteorological services, and communities also laid the groundwork for creating new working groups and networks across Africa and Germany. Experience shows that planning structures matter. Rigid separation of the Capacity, Build, and Fuel pillars slowed processes, while more integrated funding mechanisms and earlier involvement of administrative teams could streamline action. AHA proved most effective when embedded into existing emergency management systems and supported by clear stakeholder mapping and strong government engagement.
Across Somaliland, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, and Mozambique, AHA is increasingly being built into national systems. Somaliland has integrated AHA into NADFOR’s official frameworks, while Zimbabwe has taken legislative steps and created a national committee. This shows strong government ownership, even as coordination gaps and fragmented approaches continue to challenge coherence across countries.
WAHAFA : Finding a new way
Launched in 2023, the Welthungerhilfe Anticipatory Humanitarian Action Facility (WAHAFA) is reshaping how crises are addressed.
Instead of reacting after a disaster strikes, WAHAFA enables organizations to act before impacts escalate, using forecasts and risk data to trigger rapid, pre-planned support. Across 13 Sub-Saharan African countries, WAHAFA empowers local and international NGOs to design, test, and operationalize Anticipatory Action Plans (AAPs) that protect lives and livelihoods. When trigger thresholds are reached, funds are released and anticipatory actions are implemented.
Rather than a traditional humanitarian project, WAHAFA is a catalyst accelerating the adoption of Anticipatory Humanitarian Action (AHA) among German NGOs, their local humanitarian partners as well as other stakeholders such as government institutions. Capturing what we have experienced This evaluation captures lessons of the WAHAFA program running from May 2023 to April 2026 and helps shape new AHA projects. This evaluation concentrated on programs in four sample countries: Madagascar, Mozambique, Somalia/Somaliland, and Zimbabwe.
WAHAFA’s model is built on three pillars:
- Capacity – training and peer learning
- Build – combining scientific forecasting with community priorities and knowledge to shape Anticipatory Humanitarian Action mechanisms through AAPs.
- Fuel – releasing funds for pre-agreed actions as soon as triggers are reached.
Making change last
The direction is clear: partners are not only acting in anticipation, they are shaping the future of AHA, transforming lessons into leadership and strengthening the systems that make AHA possible.
This leadership shift is reinforced by growing momentum across the sector. AHA is further gaining visibility and credibility among NGOs, UN agencies, and government actors. Partners have integrated AHA into their operational frameworks, formed active working groups in Somaliland, Zimbabwe, and Germany, and engaged local authorities. WHH has institutionalized AHA internally through a dedicated Anticipation and Preparedness Fund laying the groundwork for long-term integration into organizational programming.
Yet sustainability remains a work in progress. Gaps between funding phases disrupt staffing, staff turnover weakens continuity, and national uptake remains uneven. To make change last, stronger coordination, more flexible funding, and deeper national ownership are essential.
Across the WAHAFA network, partners are evolving from AHA trainees into leaders shaping the future of AHA. ADRA has already transformed the WAHAFA planning approach into global internal guidelines and established its own AHA working group, while governments in Zimbabwe and Somaliland are deepening collaboration with NGOs to embed AHA in national systems.
Putting locals in the lead
WAHAFA has accelerated this shift towards locally led AHA. By supporting partners to embed AHA into their own frameworks and by working closely with local authorities, NGOs, and communities, the program has helped create real momentum for change.
Foundations for long-term, locally led AHA are now firmly in place, for example, for example through new working groups in Somaliland and Zimbabwe.
Across Germany and Sub-Saharan Africa, the demand for AHA has been clear. Organizations and governments recognize that acting ahead can strengthen existing disaster management systems and they are eager to build the skills to do so. One of the strongest signals comes from communities. In Zimbabwe, for example, tools such as the People First Impact Method (P-FIM) have shown how deeply effective local participation can be, helping communities organize, anticipate, and shape the actions that matter most to them.
WAHAFA enables local communities and partners to shape AHA to fit their realities, becoming active drivers of change.
WHH - WAHAFA report
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Transcript
Acting ahead
To put anticipatory actions into motion efficiently once thresholds are met and funds are released, partner organizations need to be operationally ready.
The direction is clear: partners are not only acting in anticipation, they are shaping the future of AHA, transforming lessons into leadership and strengthening the systems that make AHA possible.
At the same time, the path to AHA still faces delays. Long chains of approvals, from the German Federal Foreign Office through WHH, INGOs, and local partners, have slowed implementation. While many organizations have streamlined their internal processes, the chain itself remains long, making realistic timelines and coordinated decision-making essential.
AHA is gaining real traction. Several partners are stepping up as leaders in acting in anticipation. Working groups were pro-actively formed and partners focused on their organizational readiness and operationalization of AAPs.
Coordinated Planning for Anticipatory Humanitarian Action
Strong planning is the backbone of Anticipatory Humanitarian Action. WAHAFA supports partners to turn forecasts into Anticipatory Action Plans that are anchored in existing disaster management structures, with clear triggers and roles.
While staff turnover, fragmented models, and political challenges still limit sustainability, enabling factors such as active working groups, flexible donors, diverse funding streams, and local ownership have accelerated progress: countries are increasingly planning together, strengthening coordination, and laying the groundwork for AHA that is coherent, collaborative, and built to last.
WAHAFA’s capacity-sharing sessions helped strengthen understanding and readiness, and as partners gained confidence, Build applications improved significantly. Collaboration with governments, meteorological services, and communities also laid the groundwork for creating new working groups and networks across Africa and Germany. Experience shows that planning structures matter. Rigid separation of the Capacity, Build, and Fuel pillars slowed processes, while more integrated funding mechanisms and earlier involvement of administrative teams could streamline action. AHA proved most effective when embedded into existing emergency management systems and supported by clear stakeholder mapping and strong government engagement.
Across Somaliland, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, and Mozambique, AHA is increasingly being built into national systems. Somaliland has integrated AHA into NADFOR’s official frameworks, while Zimbabwe has taken legislative steps and created a national committee. This shows strong government ownership, even as coordination gaps and fragmented approaches continue to challenge coherence across countries.
WAHAFA : Finding a new way
Launched in 2023, the Welthungerhilfe Anticipatory Humanitarian Action Facility (WAHAFA) is reshaping how crises are addressed.
Instead of reacting after a disaster strikes, WAHAFA enables organizations to act before impacts escalate, using forecasts and risk data to trigger rapid, pre-planned support. Across 13 Sub-Saharan African countries, WAHAFA empowers local and international NGOs to design, test, and operationalize Anticipatory Action Plans (AAPs) that protect lives and livelihoods. When trigger thresholds are reached, funds are released and anticipatory actions are implemented.
Rather than a traditional humanitarian project, WAHAFA is a catalyst accelerating the adoption of Anticipatory Humanitarian Action (AHA) among German NGOs, their local humanitarian partners as well as other stakeholders such as government institutions. Capturing what we have experienced This evaluation captures lessons of the WAHAFA program running from May 2023 to April 2026 and helps shape new AHA projects. This evaluation concentrated on programs in four sample countries: Madagascar, Mozambique, Somalia/Somaliland, and Zimbabwe.
WAHAFA’s model is built on three pillars:
Making change last
The direction is clear: partners are not only acting in anticipation, they are shaping the future of AHA, transforming lessons into leadership and strengthening the systems that make AHA possible.
This leadership shift is reinforced by growing momentum across the sector. AHA is further gaining visibility and credibility among NGOs, UN agencies, and government actors. Partners have integrated AHA into their operational frameworks, formed active working groups in Somaliland, Zimbabwe, and Germany, and engaged local authorities. WHH has institutionalized AHA internally through a dedicated Anticipation and Preparedness Fund laying the groundwork for long-term integration into organizational programming.
Yet sustainability remains a work in progress. Gaps between funding phases disrupt staffing, staff turnover weakens continuity, and national uptake remains uneven. To make change last, stronger coordination, more flexible funding, and deeper national ownership are essential.
Across the WAHAFA network, partners are evolving from AHA trainees into leaders shaping the future of AHA. ADRA has already transformed the WAHAFA planning approach into global internal guidelines and established its own AHA working group, while governments in Zimbabwe and Somaliland are deepening collaboration with NGOs to embed AHA in national systems.
Putting locals in the lead
WAHAFA has accelerated this shift towards locally led AHA. By supporting partners to embed AHA into their own frameworks and by working closely with local authorities, NGOs, and communities, the program has helped create real momentum for change. Foundations for long-term, locally led AHA are now firmly in place, for example, for example through new working groups in Somaliland and Zimbabwe.
Across Germany and Sub-Saharan Africa, the demand for AHA has been clear. Organizations and governments recognize that acting ahead can strengthen existing disaster management systems and they are eager to build the skills to do so. One of the strongest signals comes from communities. In Zimbabwe, for example, tools such as the People First Impact Method (P-FIM) have shown how deeply effective local participation can be, helping communities organize, anticipate, and shape the actions that matter most to them.
WAHAFA enables local communities and partners to shape AHA to fit their realities, becoming active drivers of change.