Ghana: Strengthening local early action

ORGANISATION
Abundant Grace Female Foundation

LOCATION
Ghana

The context

As climate-related disasters grow more frequent and severe in Ghana—floods, droughts, and storms – the need for early action and local preparedness has never been more urgent. Yet many civil society organisations (CSOs) lack the tools and resources to act before disaster strikes.

To address this gap, GNDR member and National Focal Point for Ghana, Abundant Grace Female Foundation (AGFF), partnered with Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (DKH) to organise a national workshop on Early Action Planning for Disasters. The initiative aimed to strengthen local actors’ capacity to anticipate risks, coordinate responses, and protect lives and livelihoods through proactive measures.

Locally-led capacity building

The one-day workshop brought together CSOs, community leaders, local government representatives, and forecasting experts. Participants learned how to design and implement early warning systems, develop contingency plans, and ensure inclusivity and accountability in decision-making.

Emphasis was placed on community-led planning – ensuring that women, youth, and marginalised groups are part of defining local risk priorities. Forecasting experts supported participants to identify locally relevant “trigger indicators” for action and to build impact tables using community-generated data.

This collaboration bridged the gap between science and society, creating the foundation for anticipatory action that saves lives and resources.

Results and impact

Participants left the training equipped with practical tools and a clearer understanding of their roles in disaster preparedness. They gained confidence in:

• Designing inclusive contingency plans that ensure participation and ownership.
• Communicating preparedness plans effectively to communities.
• Using forecasting data for local-level decision-making.
• Coordinating more effectively with national disaster management institutions.

By linking community actors with technical experts, the workshop strengthened Ghana’s local preparedness systems – showing that civil society is essential to bridging institutions and the communities most at risk.

Challenges and lessons

Participants identified significant barriers to effective early action, including limited financing, weak local platforms for contingency planning, and inadequate access to forecasting tools. These challenges mirror a global truth: when resilience is underfunded, disasters become costlier.

The workshop reinforced that civil society has the expertise required to implement disaster risk finance solutions, but without resources, their potential remains untapped.

Looking forward

AGFF is advocating for greater investment in local disaster risk finance – including microgrants, group cash transfer mechanisms, and permanent local platforms for preparedness and anticipatory action.

This initiative echoes GNDR’s global call:

International assistance must shift from short-term relief to long-term prevention and preparedness.

By funding resilience – and by funding civil society – governments and donors can help transform knowledge into action, ensuring that communities across Ghana are not only ready for disasters but resilient beyond them.

This International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, GNDR calls for governments, donors, the private sector and financial institutions to prioritise funding for resilience, not just funding for disasters when they strike.

All photos: The Abundant Grace Female Foundation