Pre-Financing Anticipatory Action: A Practical Guide for National Societies

Anticipatory action is expanding and being mainstreamed across the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement. As National Societies add more Early Action Protocols (EAPs) and scale up their anticipatory action programming, developing an anticipatory action pre-financing strategy is essential to ensuring timely and effective implementation.

The window for anticipatory action is a critical period when humanitarian organizations can act to reduce the impact of an impending disaster. To ensure timely action, funding is needed early in this window. However, financial transfer timelines, approval processes, and funding structures often cause delays, making it difficult to secure funds in time. Without immediate financial resources, these delays can undermine the entire anticipatory process. Pre-financing is key, allowing National Societies to quickly mobilize resources and deliver aid when it is most needed.

This guide explains the value of a pre-financing strategy and key factors to consider in its development. It details different pre-financing options to support effective decision-making and provides a step-by-step guidance for National Societies to design and implement their strategy. While relevant to all National Societies engaged in anticipatory action, different sections may be particularly useful for program managers, finance officers, and logistics teams based on their roles in the process.