The Technical Coordination Initiative session featured representatives from Togo presenting progress on advancing the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative through concrete investments and implementation efforts. The discussion highlighted key lessons and outcomes from the CREWS Togo project, experience with the GCF-CREWS Scale-Up Framework, and ongoing work under the GCF-supported SAP 048 project to strengthen multi-hazard early warning systems.
On 29 May 2026, representatives from Togo's meteorological, hydrological, and civil protection services came together to share how targeted investments in early warning systems have strengthened national capacities, improved community resilience, and unlocked significant new financing opportunities.
The discussion, held under WMO's Technical Coordination Initiative, highlighted how Togo has transformed a relatively modest investment through the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) initiative into a broader national effort to advance the Early Warnings for All agenda.
Togo's experience offers several lessons for countries seeking to strengthen multi-hazard early warning systems and scale up climate resilience investments.
Lesson 1: Strong institutions are the foundation of effective early warning systems
One of the most significant achievements of the CREWS project was the strengthening of national institutions.
The project supported the transformation of the national meteorological service into a fully-fledged meteorological agency through the development of a national decree. It also helped establish key governance and operational frameworks, including the National Framework for Climate Cervices and the National Strategic Plan. Together these help drive service delivery and coordination with key stakeholders, while at the same time setting the long-term vision and priorities for action by the meteorological services.
By investing in institutional development alongside technical capacity building, Togo created the foundations necessary for long-term sustainability. Participants emphasized that effective early warning systems depend not only on technology but also on clear mandates, governance arrangements, and skilled personnel. Investment in these institutional foundations ensure that these can be maintained over time.
Lesson 2: Collaboration across institutions delivers better results
A recurring theme throughout the discussion was the importance of collaboration among the three key actors across the early warnings value chain, namely: meteorology, hydrology, and civil protection.
Despite reporting to different ministries, these agencies worked together through Togo's national platform for disaster risk reduction, developing common procedures for warning generation and dissemination.
This collaboration improved coordination at national level and strengthened trust among communities, who increasingly viewed government institutions as working together to protect lives and livelihoods.
As one the national representatives noted, bringing the three institutions together under a single project may have been one of the most important outcomes of the entire initiative.
Lesson 3: Community engagement turns forecasts into action
The project placed significant emphasis on ensuring that investments at national level translated into benefits for communities.
Activities included community risk mapping, awareness campaigns, simulation exercises, and the dissemination of information in local languages. Local communities were directly involved in risk reduction and early warning activities, helping ensure that warning systems responded to local needs and realities.
Particular attention was given to agriculture, where weather and climate information services were integrated into farming practices. Feedback mechanisms allowed farmers to confirm or challenge forecasts, creating a two-way exchange between users and service providers.
The results were tangible. According to data presented during the session, the proportion of households receiving and using forecast information increased from 20 percent to 57 percent, demonstrating growing uptake and trust in climate services.
Lesson 4: Demonstrating impact attracts investment
Perhaps the most powerful lesson from Togo's experience is that national anchoring can unlock finance for achieving a common vision.
Participants highlighted how evidence generated through the CREWS project, institutional buy in, collaboration, and coordination worked as a strategy to attract additional financing from multiple sources.
Activities initially piloted under CREWS were incorporated into larger programmes, including coastal resilience, food systems resilience, and urban development initiatives.
Most notably, lessons and results from the project contributed to the approval of a USD 25 million Green Climate Fund (GCF) project designed to scale up resilience and early warning activities nationwide.
Togo is also preparing a proposal to the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), further demonstrating how early investments in capacity and implementation can serve as a springboard for larger-scale financing.
Lesson 5: Early Warnings for All requires a long-term investment roadmap
While significant progress has been achieved, participants stressed that existing investments cover only part of Togo's needs.
The country is therefore developing an Early Warnings for All roadmap that will provide a comprehensive assessment of remaining gaps, ongoing investments, and future priorities.
The roadmap will serve as a strategic blueprint to coordinate partners, guide resource mobilization, and ensure that investments across sectors contribute to a coherent national early warning system.
This approach recognizes that achieving Early Warnings for All is not a single project, but a long-term national transformation requiring sustained commitment, coordination, and financing.
Looking Ahead
Togo's experience demonstrates that building effective multi-hazard early warning systems requires more than technology alone. Institutional strengthening, inter-agency collaboration, community engagement, and strategic investment planning are equally critical.
As countries around the world work toward achieving the Early Warnings for All initiative, Togo's journey illustrates how targeted investments can generate impacts far beyond their original scope-strengthening national capacities, protecting vulnerable communities, and creating the conditions for sustained climate resilience.
Recording from the event:
