Challenges and opportunities for anticipatory action: Lessons from Madagascar and Zimbabwe

This document reports on the challenges and opportunities of anticipatory action (AA) in transforming crisis management in Madagascar and Zimbabwe. These points were those raised at a series of Start Network roundtable discussions held in July and August 2025. In Madagascar, key topics of conversation focused on community co-design, data harmonisation, and trust-building at the local level. In Zimbabwe, conversation emphasised the importance of integrating AA into national disaster risk management systems and generating evidence to secure donor confidence and contribute to the scaling up of AA.

The key resulting messages are as follows:

• The full potential of AA hinges on coordinated forecasting and action protocols amongst actors, inclusive community-led design, robust evidence of impact, and provision of sustainable funding.
• Challenges identified include very short anticipation windows for cyclones and floods, policy and data gaps, and limited donor buy-in.
• Opportunities identified include developing strong policy and data frameworks, integrating indigenous knowledge and community-led design, as well as strengthening donor advocacy.