Addendum to the 2022 Anticipatory Action Framework for Floods in Nepal (as of September 2023)

Background

In 2021, the Emergency Relief Coordinator endorsed the Anticipatory Action framework for floods in Nepal. The framework underwent minor changes in 2022 and was activated in October that year. In 2023, the ERC extended the pilot period by another 2 years and agreed to a total amount of $6.5 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund on the conditions that lessons from the previous activation are incorporated, and anticipatory action is mainstreamed in country-level processes. As a result, the Regional Coordinator’s Office together with OCHA, UN agencies, and government entities have agreed on a staged process. In the first stage, the CERF-funded framework will undergo operational adjustments based on lessons from the activation in October 2022. The second stage will involve more extensive changes to the framework as well as consultations with government agencies to develop a national anticipatory action framework.

Changes in the 2023 monsoon season

The following changes were made to the framework in 2023:

  1. FAO was included as a new partner to strengthen the provision of life-saving agricultural assistance to flood-affected households. The agency will provide early warning risk messages in agriculture and distribute hermetic seed storage bags to agricultural households in the five municipalities of eastern districts Saptari and Sunsari. The agency has already procured the bags, which will be transported to the flood sites after the readiness trigger and distributed after the action trigger. The CERF funds will then be used to replenish the stocks.

  2. While the contribution of UN Women to the framework was highly appreciated, the decision was made to not include them as a direct recipient of CERF funding.

  3. WFP will distribute their cash assistance within 11-61 hours upon flood impact based on rapid monitoring activities rather than directly after the action trigger.

  4. UNFPA added Kanchanrup to their list of assisted municipalities in Saptari district.