Statement by Foreign Minister Heiko Maas at the High-Level Humanitarian Event on Anticipatory Action

Over the last few years, the global humanitarian system has done an outstanding job in dealing with a growing number of crises.

However, record-level humanitarian needs resulting from conflict, the pandemic and climate change are outpacing our capacity to respond.

That is why merely reacting to the devastation caused by floods, droughts or conflict will not be enough. We need to shift our focus to anticipating risks.

That makes today’s event so important. And I thank Martin and James for co-chairing it.

The Secretary-General gave examples from Bangladesh and Somalia for how anticipatory action works.