13 Oct Africa makes progress on early warnings, but last-mile gaps remain

International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction highlights the importance of reaching communities before disaster strikes.

Africa has expanded its coverage of multi-hazard early warning systems in recent years, but significant gaps remain in ensuring that warnings reach communities and translate into action.

The issue is being highlighted on 13 October as part of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, whose 2026 theme is “Resilience Starts at Home”.

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) says the theme reflects the role of households in disaster preparedness, while recognising that people need access to reliable information, resilient housing and effective warning systems if they are to reduce their exposure to risk.

Recent progress in Africa has been significant. According to UNDRR, the number of African countries reporting multi-hazard early warning systems has increased from 14 in 2015 to 41 in 2026. The organisation says the comprehensiveness of those systems has also more than doubled since 2022.

However, UNDRR says the remaining challenge is reaching the last mile.

At the Africa Early Warnings Forum in Addis Ababa in September, governments, regional organisations and other stakeholders called for greater investment, stronger communication and systems capable of reaching communities that remain difficult to protect.

The urgency is underlined by the scale of recent events. UNDRR reported that extreme weather and climate-related events affected at least 13 million people and caused more than 3,000 reported fatalities across Africa during 2025.

The organisation’s Addis Ababa Call to Action identified five priorities, including closing remaining gaps in warning coverage, making multi-hazard warning systems a core public investment, enabling early action and making universal protection a measurable responsibility.

For fire and security professionals, the emphasis on the last mile has implications beyond conventional emergency warning systems. Alerts need to be communicated in ways that people can understand and act upon, while emergency planning needs to account for the needs of different communities and the infrastructure on which they depend.

The 2026 campaign also puts the physical resilience of homes under scrutiny, calling for stronger risk-informed planning and construction practices.

The message is therefore broader than simply improving the ability to respond when disaster occurs. Resilience depends on reducing vulnerability beforehand, ensuring warnings reach people in time and giving communities the knowledge and resources needed to act.