The Red Cross and Red Crescent’s first ever Early Action Protocol funded by IFRC’s Forecast-based Action by the DREF – which will use forecast-based financing to support herder families in the high Andes region of Peru – is now in place and ready for activation.

The protocol is designed to help herder families to protect their lives and livelihoods during periods of extreme cold weather. The early action will be activated based on a five-day climate forecast, which will give the Peruvian Red Cross a period of four days to act before the start of an extreme cold wave.

This EAP was developed by the Peruvian Red Cross with support from the German Red Cross, the German Foreign Office, IFRC and the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, and is designed to shift humanitarian action from response to anticipation – a shift that could save lives and dramatically reduce costs compared to traditional emergency relief.