Uganda Targets Disaster Readiness with National Weather Services Plan

In a landmark effort to bolster Uganda’s resilience to climate shocks and promote sustainable development, government officials, climate experts, and development partners convened in Kampala on Monday to validate the country’s National Framework for Weather and Climate Services (NFWCS) Strategy and Action Plan.

The high-level workshop, hosted by the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) in partnership with the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) and the World Food Programme (WFP), represents a pivotal milestone since 2009 in Uganda’s drive to integrate climate services into national planning and decision-making.

The proposed Strategy and Action Plan is designed to enhance Uganda’s capacity to generate, coordinate, and apply reliable climate information to guide policy and practice in critical sectors such as agriculture, water management, disaster risk reduction, health, and energy.

“This framework will help the country better manage the risks and opportunities arising from climate variability and change,” said Milton Waiswa, who represented the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Water and Environment. “It is especially critical for the most vulnerable communities. Incorporating science-based climate information into our planning is no longer optional—it is essential.”

Uganda, like many countries in the region, is increasingly affected by extreme weather events, including prolonged droughts and devastating floods that continue to claim lives and disrupt livelihoods. The NFWCS is aligned with the five pillars of the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS)—observations and monitoring, user engagement, capacity development, research and prediction, and climate services information systems. 

It seeks to ensure that climate information is not only accurate and timely but also actionable across all levels of decision-making. “This is not just a technical document—it is a game-changer,” said Tiina Honkanen, Head of Social Protection and Anticipatory Action at WFP. “Weather and climate information is not a luxury—it is life-saving. Early warning systems have been shown to deliver at least a tenfold return on investment.”

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Honkanen referenced the UN Secretary-General’s “Early Warnings for All” (EW4All) initiative, which sets 2027 as the target year for universal coverage of early warning systems. “Uganda’s framework positions the country to leapfrog toward that goal by aligning investments across the entire climate data value chain—from production to application,” she added.

The Framework is part of a wider regional initiative under the Intra-ACP ClimSA programme, which supports the development of climate services in 11 East African countries, including Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Sudan, Djibouti, Eritrea, and Tanzania.

Calistus Wachana, Climate Services User Engagement Expert at IGAD, described the validation workshop as a critical step toward building national ownership and fostering inter-sectoral collaboration. “The Strategy and Action Plan we are validating today will ensure that Uganda’s climate services are not just scientifically sound but also accessible and actionable at every level,” he said in an interview at Hotel Africana.

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Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also weighed in on the importance of the initiative.
“Uganda, like many of our neighbours, is grappling with increasing climate variability and extreme weather events,” said Dr. Edith Namutebi, Acting Head of Regional Peace and Security. 

“This Framework reflects our shared realities and capacities, while helping communities better prepare for and respond to climate risks.” Key expected outcomes of the workshop include: Final endorsement of the NFWCS Strategy and Action Plan, a clear roadmap to its official launch, strengthened institutional coordination, and promotion of public-private partnerships in climate services delivery among others. 

With collective commitment from government, partners, and civil society, the NFWCS is set to become a cornerstone of Uganda’s climate resilience strategy—ensuring that timely, accurate, and usable climate information reaches those who need it most.