A snapshot of the system

By : Obai Isaac, DRR Specialist ‐ ACTED in Uganda

EARLY WARNING SYSTEM… ⌚This refers to provision of early or relevant information on potential or 

actual disasters, and normally involves monitoring hazards, especially in relation to communities  vulnerabilities or areas known to be vulnerable to their effects, so that more timely and effective response measures can be taken.

The objective of an EWS is to empower communities threatened by a hazard and decision makers at higher levels, to act in sufficient time and appropriately to reduce the impact of the disaster.

DROUGHT  Drought is a condition of moisture deficit sufficient to have an adverse 

effect on vegetation, animals, and man over a sizeable areaDrought is a sustained lack of adequate water from established sources to 

meet the needs of users.Types of drought: meteorological, agricultural, hydrological

HAZARD

Potentially damaging event, phenomenon or human activity, which may cause the loss of life or injury, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation 

DISASTER 

Serious disruption of normal functioning of society causing human, material, or environmental losses exceeds the ability of affected community to cope using own resources.

And the famous… DISASTER RISK REDUCTION … Minimizing vulnerabilities and disaster risks throughout a society, to avoid [prevention] or to limit [mitigation and preparedness], the adverse impacts of hazards, within the broad context of sustainable development.

Risk

H * V 

H: HazardV: VulnerabilityC: Capacity

CR =

Population vulnerable to a certain type of disaster

Early Warning System*able to identify in a timely manner any unusual trend*able to answer the questions : what type of disaster?

with which magnitude?how fast is it coming?which area is targeted?

Community informed of the conclusion given by analysis of 

the indicators

Institutions informed of the 

conclusion given by analysis of the indicators  

Rapid response Assessment in the Targeted area

Implementation of response strategy 

aiming at reducing the vulnerability of the 

population

•Phase 1: Pilot project in 1 district of Karamoja (Nakapiripirit) ‐ 2008

•Phase 2: Design of the regional DEWS ‐ 2009

•Phase 3: Implementation and capacity building – 2009

•Phase 4: Monitoring and technical support ‐ 2010

•Phase 5: Review and adjustments – end 2010

•Phase 6: Implementation of the new adjustments, and innovations to enhancethe timeliness and accuracy of the Drought Bulletin, and continuous monitoringand technical support – 2011

•Phase 7: Continuous monitoring and technical support with focus on enhancingthe capacity of the system to issue accurate and timely messages (EWPC, rainfallobserved data for more reliable weather forecast) and to initiate early action (from thecommunity and LG/partners) – 2012/2013• Phase 8: Handover process to the National and Local government( 2014‐2016)

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Main sources of IncomeApril 2009

Casual Labour19%

Charcoal 15%

Livestock 44%

Firewood 4%

Honey11%

Crop7%

A first initiative in the region:-Started in June 2008-Inspired from Kenyan EWS (Arid Land)- Data collection in 26 parishes (26 sentinels, including 16 CAHWs)-Monthly Drought Bulletin published -Run by ACTED

County Livelihood Zone Areas Status* Trend

Pian

Agro-pastoralists Lorengedwat, Narisae, Kamaturu, Nathinyoit Alert Improving

Pastoralists

Lorengedwat, Narisae, Kamaturu, Nathinyoit,

Nabilatuk,Alert Improving

Lorengedwat, Kamaturu Alert Improving

ChekwiiAgro-pastoralists Kakomongole, Nabolis Normal No Significant

change

Pastoralists Nabilatuk, Kakomongole, Nabolis Normal No Significant

change

PokotAgro-pastoralists Loroo, Achorichor,

Amudat Alert Improving

Pastoralists Loroo, Achorichor, Amudat Alert Improving

From a pilot project in NakapiripiritDistrict to a regional design in

Karamoja 

Community consultations and stakeholders assessment

2 national workshops: Draw up the list of indicators Design the data collection, analysis 

and dissemination process

ACTORS:  District officials Representatives of national government 

(MAAIF, Office of the Prime Minister) UN agencies (UNICEF, WFP, OCHA, 

FAO, UNDP, WHO) Local & international NGO 9

Phase 2: Design of the Regional Drought EWS

Project designed in consensus: district officials, representatives of national government (Office of the Prime Minister), UN agencies (UNICEF, WFP, OCHA, FAO, UNDP, WHO), local & international NGO 

Government ownership (districts run the project, rely upon existing government institutional structure, national government gives support)

ACTED builds the capacity of the district + national government to run the budget

Low cost project: built under the current resources of the local government

Adapted to the context of Karamoja (list of indicators, chain of communication…though highly inspired from Arid Land, Kenya)

Each district to produce its own Drought Bulletin, OPM to gather/disseminate data at national level

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- Trainings of sentinels, sub-county chiefs, DEWFP- Creation of a EWS Software- Distribution of Equipment (gumboots, bicycles, computers, generators)

Sentinels training, Abim, Aug 09

Sub-County Chiefs training, Kotido, Sept 09

DEWFP training Moroto, Nov 09

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Field monitoring, Refresher trainings every 6 months (2009/2010)

Sustainability workshop ACTED/OPM/FAO (Jan 2010)

Moroto declaration, circulated at the OPM and office of the 1st Lady

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By mid of 2010, after 8mth of running the DEWS ACTED identified the following challenges:

Transport of questionnaires: Parish  District Slow data entry Lack of data quality control Amount of data (192 Parishes in Karamoja)  Some indicators difficult to collect or not reliable enough Software bugs Availability of district Heads of Department for analysis Lack of baseline information and reliable and specific meteorological data No feedback t the communities

The challenges were addressed through: Reviewing the list of DEWS indicators   Establishing a sampling framework Introducing new technologies Establishing a data quality control system Supporting the Department of Meteorology EW Phase Classification Radio messages and drama groups

From 36 to 21 indicators

From 192 to 75 representative parishes (and sentinels), covering all

livelihood zones

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5 sectors:

1. Weather and natural resources

2. Livestock

3. Crop

4. Water

5. Coping strategies/Security/Nutrition

INDICATOR LEVEL OF COLLECTION

HAZARDMONITORINGVegetation Condition HouseholdRainfall Amount DistrictTemperature DistrictHumidity DistrictWeather forecast DistrictVULNERABILITY MONITORINGLivestock Body Condition KraalsLivestock Migration DistrictCalves mortality rate<1mth/abortion KraalsLivestock disease incidence DistrictType and number of livestock available in the market MarketAccessibility of grazing areas KraalsType of crop planted HouseholdCrop condition HouseholdCrop Yield DistrictQuantity of water fetched daily at HH level HouseholdTime spent to fetch water HouseholdType of water sources HouseholdSafe water points DistrictTerm of trade (Price of mature bull/ Price of sorghum) MarketIncidence of malnutrition DistrictOut migration of people LCIFreedom of movement HouseholdCoping mechanisms HouseholdPrice of firewood and charcoal MarketPrice of casual labour HouseholdType of food eaten Household

COLLECT I ON

ANALYS I S

D I SSEM I

NAT I ON

Parish Chiefs District WaterOfficer

District Health Officer

District Veterinary Officer

District EW Focal Person

Data Entry

Drought Bulletin

MAAIF TWG (Reviews

and approves the

bulletins)

Decides if any action plan must be implemented to prevent damages from foreseen drought-Coordinates the response with all other stakeholders

Sub-County Chiefs

District EW Focal Person+ DHO/DWO/DNRO/DAO/DVO

Data Analysis

District Agric Officer

District Natural Resources Officer

OPM-NECOC

Other Line Ministries, stakeholders (NGO’s donors) and DLG’s

Napak, 10

Amudat, 10

Kaabong, 13

Abim, 10

Moroto, 10

Nakapiripirit, 11

Kotido, 11

Distribution of the DEWS sentinels per district

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HH respondent in Napak district

Head of the HH is interviewed by the Parish Chief who fills in the paper questionnaire

Head of the HH narrates how he narrowly escaped an attack from warriors

Parish Chief fills in the NDG survey and sends it to the server

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10 HH / sentinel+1 kraal / sentinel+1 market /sentinel=12 questionnaires entered in the phone and sent

Parish55 pilot parishes

District5 pilot districts: Nakapiripirit, Amudat, Napak, Kotido, Kaabong

Analysis by District Heads of Department

Production of the Drought Bulletin

by DEWFP

Data automatically uploaded in DEWS software which produces all graphs of

the Drought Bulletin

Funding from DFID/FAO for implementation of a sustained hand over and ownership of the project by government‐ Involvement of government and streamlining the system into government structures for sustainable functionality

Project to run till January 2016

ACTED to work from within the district and increase contact with the districts

All modalities of communication to be within the government processes

Support from ACTED should be in line with what Government demands in order to run the system

Capacity Building of the District and National government priority

Early Action pilot in one district of Karamoja