Leaders from 50 African nation called for stronger cooperation to ensure people and communities can anticipate climate-related hazards, receive timely warnings and take action before disasters strike.
They stated this in the Addis Ababa Call to Action on Early Warnings in Africa adopted at the Africa Early Warnings Forum that concluded in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on September 4, 2026.
The declaration comes amid intensifying climate extremes and growing risks to lives and livelihoods across the world including the African continent.
“No person, community or country should face a predictable hazard without the means to anticipate it, receive a warning and act before lives and livelihoods are lost” stated the commitment.
The Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative launched in 2022, by the United Nations Secretary-General called for every person on Earth to be protected by multi-hazard early warning systems by 2027
The leaders urged all key stakeholders, including African Member States and the African Union Commission, the United Nations entities, scientific and academic institutions to work together to maintain “Early Warnings for All” as a global political priority and advance universal, effective and sustainable multi-hazard early warning coverage
The call to action said progress made in Africa before and since 2022 must be accelerated and sustained with efforts driven by the priorities and leadership of African countries and communities.
More than four years after EW4All was launched in 2022, Africa has made significant progress in strengthening early warning systems, including through greater cross-border cooperation and regionalisation under the Africa Multi-Hazard Early Warning and Early Action System (AMHEWAS). There are now 41 African countries reporting on early warning systems, and the comprehensiveness of their systems has more than doubled since 2022.
However, progress remains uneven, and significant gaps persist across the continent, especially in Small Island Development States (SIDS), Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and fragile countries. Many countries and communities remain insufficiently protected.
The Addis Ababa call said that these gaps need to be addressed to ensure effective protection for people wherever they live and whatever their circumstances. Multi-hazard early warning systems must be people-centred, inclusive and accessible to all including those in the fragile countries.
Multi-hazard early warning systems must be recognised as essential national infrastructure and a fundamental public service, not a temporary project, it said.
African nations must establish and progressively strengthen dedicated domestic budget allocations. They need to scale-up innovative financing mechanisms for multi-hazard early warning systems.
The international climate, development and humanitarian finance must provide adequate, predictable, sustained and accessible financing, wherever needed in Africa particularly for SIDS and LDCs, and countries affected by fragility, urged the call-to-action
Such funds should be easily accessible and better aligned with the priorities of individual countries.
But funds alone will not be enough. Early warnings must be connected to preparedness and early action, with the entire warning chain clearly defined.
This includes identifying who issues warnings, authorizes action, coordinates the response and ensures implementation at the local level, while clarifying the roles of regional bodies, technical agencies, National Societies and communities.
The call especially emphasized on strengthening decentralized capacity to turn warnings into last-mile action. It urged upon the need to invest in and formally integrate local authorities, community volunteers and trusted community networks into warning systems. The warnings should be provided in local languages and accessible formats, while taking into account the different communication needs of communities.
This is essential to translate warnings into timely, locally appropriate early action.
The call also urged African nations to reform disaster risk management laws, for clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of governments and other stakeholders, it stated.
It recommended integrating early warnings across sectors, including agriculture and food security, health, water, education, infrastructure, cities and social protection. The countries should strengthen cooperation among agencies and include early warning measures in development, disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation plans.
The call also focused on the role of technology, innovation and artificial intelligence (AI) in strengthening early warning systems across Africa.
Governments and partners were urged to invest in resilient, people-centred technologies linking risk information, forecasts, warnings and early action, using mobile, broadcast, satellite and community channels to reach people. It also called for the rapid expansion of mobile-based public warning systems, including Cell Broadcast, and for greater use of responsible AI and digital innovation.
The declaration stressed the need for quality data, cybersecurity, technical skills, common standards and stronger public-private and regional partnerships to ensure these technologies are effectively integrated into early warning systems.
The call urged upon the nations to work across borders by sharing data and warnings to help communities respond to hazards more effectively. This is very relevant for those hazards that affect more than one country and require coordinated action.
Africa’s deadliest five-year period in more than a decade has underlined the urgent need for stronger early warning and early action systems across the continent.
The Africa Early Warnings Forum, held in Addis Ababa from September 2 to 4, 2026 launched a regional-to-global consultation process that will assess progress since 2022, gather new commitments and priorities, and shape international cooperation on sustainable early warning systems and their financing through 2027.
The Addis Ababa Call to Action adopted at the forum is a call to accelerate, sustain and scale up collective action for Early Warnings for All across Africa. The leaders urged the African Union Commission, with support from Early Warnings for All Pillar leads, to coordinate the operationalization of the Addis Ababa Call to Action on Early Warnings in Africa across the continent.