Zimbabwe is stepping up efforts to strengthen its preparedness for climate-related disasters with the launch of the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) Initiative in Mutare, this Thursday.
In a statement the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife said that it will join other stakeholders for the launch, which seeks to ensure that communities across the country have access to timely and reliable information on impending weather and climate-related hazards.
“As climate change continues to intensify the frequency and severity of weather and climate-related hazards, strengthening early warning systems is critical to protecting lives, livelihoods, infrastructure and communities,” the Ministry said.
As such robust early warning systems were essential in enabling communities to anticipate disasters and take timely action.
The launch is expected to strengthen Zimbabwe’s capacity in disaster risk assessment, hazard detection, monitoring and forecasting, as well as the dissemination and communication of warnings and emergency preparedness.
The Ministry said the initiative would bring together technical institutions, communities and other stakeholders to ensure early warning information reaches people most exposed to climate-related hazards.
“The launch of the EW4All Initiative marks an important step towards strengthening Zimbabwe’s capacity in disaster risk knowledge; detection, monitoring and forecasting; warning dissemination and communication; and preparedness to respond,” it said.
The Ministry said it would continue strengthening partnerships and investing in people-centred, multi-hazard early warning systems that enable communities to anticipate risks, act early and build resilience.
EW4All is designed to ensure that early warning information goes beyond being generated to being effectively communicated and acted upon before disasters occur.
The Ministry stressed the need to turn warnings into timely action as Zimbabwe continues to face risks associated with extreme weather and climate variability.
“Early warning saves lives. Early action builds resilience. Together, let us build a safer, resilient and climate-ready Zimbabwe,” the Ministry said.
The initiative ultimately seeks to ensure that every person in Zimbabwe can access timely, accurate and actionable early warning information to protect lives, livelihoods, infrastructure and communities from weather and climate-related hazards.
