Sweden Grants US$ 900,000 to WMO for Enhancing Early Warning Systems in Five Countries

This project is part of the broader Early Warnings For All (EW4All) initiative, designed to scale up and coordinate investments and actions across the four essential pillars of people-centred MHEWS.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has received a grant of US$ 900,000 from the Swedish government for a one-year project aimed at closing gaps in Multi-hazard Early Warning Systems (MHEWS) in Bangladesh, Haiti, Liberia, Mozambique, and Somalia. This project is part of the broader Early Warnings For All (EW4All) initiative, designed to scale up and coordinate investments and actions across the four essential pillars of people-centred MHEWS.

The four pillars of MHEWS are:

Disaster risk knowledge

Detection, observation, monitoring, analysis, and forecasting

Warning dissemination and communication

Preparedness and response capabilities

Within the framework of the Swedish-funded Early Warnings For All multi-stakeholder accelerator for Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States, WMO will focus on Pillar 2, supporting the development and implementation of national early warning roadmaps. This involves increasing the availability and quality of observation data, enhancing data exchange for forecasting systems, and strengthening national forecasting capabilities for hydrometeorological hazards.

Project Deliverables:

Assessment of Current Systems: Review and documentation of the current status, gaps, priorities, and needs in detection, observation, monitoring, analysis, and forecasting systems as part of the national roadmap.

Technical Advice: Provision of technical advice for the implementation of observation, monitoring, analysis, and forecasting as identified in the national roadmap.

Capacity Building: Strengthening national capacities to coordinate and implement the detection, observation, monitoring, analysis, and forecasting aspects of the national roadmap.

Enhanced Capabilities: Improvement of national capacities related to observation, monitoring, analysis, and forecasting.

The WMO will collaborate with the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services of the target countries to ensure thorough assessments, completion of roadmaps, and execution of priority actions. Efforts will be made to collaborate with relevant stakeholders and financial entities to avoid duplication and ensure efficient resource utilization.

The project is scheduled to conclude by December 2024, aiming to significantly enhance early warning systems and preparedness in the focus countries, ultimately contributing to better disaster risk management and resilience.