We are pleased to inform you that the 2019 CREWS Annual Report has been released (see links below). As a reflection of the last year, the report summarises the progress of the initiative and formulates necessary future actions to meet the increasing demand on access to early warning systems due to more extreme weather events.
In 2019, 44 countries benefitted on a regional level from the project support by CREWS and 11 countries received financial help by the CREWS Trust Fund. More than 10 million additional people received protection by life-saving early warning systems with a special focus on gender-responsibility. The contributing CREWS member list was extended by the United Kingdom as the 7th member. Another major achievement was the launch of three new national early warning systems in Fiji, Burkina Faso and Papua New Guinea.
The Climate Risk & Early Warning Systems (CREWS) initiative aims to save lives, assets and livelihoods through increased access to early weather warnings and risk information for people in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) – the world’s most vulnerable countries. CREWS aims to contribute to establishing technical requirements for climate early warning systems.
The initiative was established in 2015 as a financing mechanism leveraging the expertise and specialist networks of its Implementing Partners the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the World Bank Group / Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). Australia, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom contribute to the pooled CREWS Trust Fund and provide oversight to their operations through the CREWS Steering Committee. The CREWS Trust Fund has invested US$ 37 million in projects in LDCs and SIDS – and has mobilised an additional US$ 270 million from public funds of other development partners. It is driven by countries and expert partners, which CREWS projects put in the lead. This ensures the most urgent needs are met first and funds generate maximum impacts.
Please find more information on their website or watch this video for a short insight.
The online version of the Annual Report 2019 is available in English here and in French here. You can access the full report in English here and in French here.