While anticipatory action (AA) is commonly designed to address one specific hazard such as drought, many populations are experiencing repeated and multiple hazards and challenges. Given this, there is a need to understand how anticipatory action fits within the context of protracted and overlapping crises, and to better understand the “right” timing and method of assistance in these contexts.
This study examines how anticipatory action was perceived and experienced among Ethiopians living with drought alongside other crises. These include the 2020–22 conflict in Tigray, local conflicts in several regions, a recent locust invasion, and escalations of Al-Shabaab terrorist attacks in the Somali Region. In 2022, the research team interviewed recipients of assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and, in some cases, from other agencies in 2021, which was provided as part of a collective anticipatory action initiative under the multipartner Ethiopia anticipatory action framework facilitated by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), funded by the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). FAO assistance included cash and seed packages; an animal health campaign and treatment services; and cash and livestock supplementary feed.