Why community engagement is essential for successful anticipatory action

Across the Sahel, governments and humanitarian organizations are increasingly investing in anticipatory action (AA)—acting before floods, droughts, or other hazards strike rather than waiting until afterward. This is part of a broader shift from reactive disaster response toward proactive risk management. Forecast-based cash transfers, crop and livestock protection, evacuation support, reinforcement against flood water rise, and other early actions can reduce humanitarian need, protect productive assets, and strengthen resilience while often providing greater value for money than responding after disaster has occurred (Levine et al. 2020; Wilkinson et al. 2020; FAO 2023; Anticipation Hub 2022; UNOCHA n.d.).

Across the Sahel, governments and humanitarian organizations are increasingly investing in anticipatory action (AA)—acting before floods, droughts, or other hazards strike rather than waiting until afterward. This is part of a broader shift from reactive disaster response toward proactive risk management. Forecast-based cash transfers, crop and livestock protection, evacuation support, reinforcement against flood water rise, and other early actions can reduce humanitarian need, protect productive assets, and strengthen resilience while often providing greater value for money than responding after disaster has occurred (Levine et al. 2020; Wilkinson et al. 2020; FAO 2023; Anticipation Hub 2022; UNOCHA n.d.).

This policy brief argues that community engagement is not simply an accompaniment to AA—it is one of its essential building blocks. It can also help ensure that AA is more than a transfer of resources, but also a process through which communities plan together, act collectively, and strengthen shared responsibility for risk reduction. Drawing on our own research and engagement with nearly 3,000 local leaders across Mali—including a survey examining development priorities, aid distribution, and understanding of AA (Bleck et al. 2024)—this brief introduces a visual storyboard designed to help communities understand how AA works, why it differs from conventional humanitarian assistance, and how households and communities can act on early warnings to collaboratively reduce losses. Developed in collaboration with a Malian artist and featuring illustrations that depict village life in Mali, the storyboard was designed to be locally grounded and recognizable to the communities it seeks to engage. While developed for Mali, the approach is readily adaptable across the Sahel and other disaster-prone settings. As governments and humanitarian organizations rapidly expand AA across the Sahel, ensuring that communities understand, trust, and participate in these systems will be essential to realizing their full potential.