CARE International UK’s Early Action Fund supports communities to prepare for emergencies like drought, flooding and cholera by taking action before they occur. The fund aims to reduce the number of people losing their lives and the scale of crises by investing in early action to ensure a more effective response when disasters strike.
This approach not only saves lives but also minimises broader economic and social impacts, supporting stability and building resilience in communities that are vulnerable to recurring humanitarian emergencies.
What is early action?
Early action may include actions to mitigate the impact of emergencies including:
- Establishing trigger systems that will activate when cholera cases are detected, helping to contain outbreaks and protect the wider community
- Drilling and rehabilitating boreholes to make sure people have access to safe and clean water supplies during droughts and after floods.
- Ensuring livestock have access to clean water, protecting them from water shortages and water contamination, and community food and income security
- Mass media messaging on disaster risk reduction and outbreak prevention and management, to ensure communities have access to the most up-to-date information
The impact of the Early Action Fund
Since March 2024 the Early Action Fund has been able to support early action for communities across the world, including those impacted by drought, flooding and conflict.
This includes Zimbabwe, which is grappling with the devastating effects of the 2024 El Niño climate pattern. El Niño has led to crop failures, death of livestock, and water shortages, leaving an estimated 7.7 million people in urgent need of emergency food support.
For Mercy, a 47-year-old mother of four, water scarcity has been a lifelong challenge that is now compounded by recurring drought. A new water scheme funded by the Early Action Fund in her village means that for the first time in her life, this has changed. Her family and their livestock are now within easy reach of clean and safe drinking water.
Zimbabwe: A daily journey for water
Before the new water scheme was introduced, at 4:30 am in Mercy’s village in Masvingo province, Zimbabwe, families would all be doing one thing: starting the relentless quest for water. Mothers and children would begin the tiresome 1.5 km journey to fetch water from the nearest borehole. The Matare village borehole is located at the far end of the village, with only a few families living close to it.
Six empty 20-litre buckets had to be filled daily for 47-year-old Mercy’s family of six. "It was a burden," Mercy recalls. "My daughters and I would walk, walk, walk… then carry the heavy buckets back. My husband, our four children, and I need six 20-litre buckets of water daily for bathing, drinking, cooking, and other household uses. By the time my children reached school, they were already spent."
Traditionally, women and girls endure the heavy burden of water collection and household chores, often waking up early and embarking on long, exhausting journeys. After the early hours of fetching water, Mercy’s two daughters, who are 11 and 17 years old, would help her ensure that all household chores were completed.
“They then had to travel another 3 kilometres to school, which often resulted in them arriving late. Sometimes the teacher complained that they fell asleep in class because they were already tired,” Mercy exclaimed.
Exhausting, and never enough
For Natasha, Mercy's eldest daughter, the daily trek for water was not just exhausting; it was a constant compromise. "The water we carried back from the borehole," she explained, "was never enough. Especially during my period." The distance meant limited trips, meagre supplies, and a constant struggle for basic hygiene during menstruation.
Beyond the human cost, water scarcity impacted their livestock. Despite the risks, Mercy's husband, weary of the long walks, often resorted to taking their cattle to the river. "It was too far to bring borehole water," he admitted, "and the animals needed to drink." This reliance on river water, often contaminated, exposed both animals and people to potential illness. Cases of cholera had been reported in their village before.
New water point transforms life for women in the village
The Matare village piped water scheme, established by CARE in partnership with the Government of Zimbabwe, has transformed life for the Matare community. The piped water scheme now serves 36 households, including Mercy and her family, with three water points.
Thanks to the new scheme, Mercy and her family now live only 75 metres from the water source. “I am overwhelmed with joy! Is this really me, travelling the shortest distance to the water source?” Mercy exclaimed. “We can even fetch water during sunset, and my children won’t have to fetch water in the morning before going to school!”
The scheme, powered by six solar panels and featuring a 10,000-litre tank, has significantly reduced the burden that falls on women to fetch drinking water. Before, each woman would spend around two and a half hours a day walking, queueing at busy water points and filling water for their household. Now, the women spend just 25 minutes doing the same, saving over two hours a day – time they can spend on activities like crop cultivation, livestock farming and horticulture. It also means they can take part in the water point committee, which means their needs are accounted for in any decisions around the community’s new water supply.
“The majority of women here were unable to attend (water point committee) meetings, claiming they were too occupied with household chores,” explained Benard Mufembi, the water point committee chairperson. “We are delighted that this initiative has led to significant improvements, and we have also included women in the water-point committee to ensure they are well represented.”
The future of the Early Action fund
As climate change increases the frequency and severity of natural hazards, Early Action will play an ever-important role in reducing the worst impacts for communities like Mercy’s. While the water scheme has transformed daily life for Mercy and her daughters, it also means the village has greater resilience to the impacts of drought which they are repeatedly affected by. With the new water scheme in place, Matare village will have access to clean water as and when the next drought occurs – for personal use, livestock and agriculture.
CARE has successfully piloted the Early Action Fund in Somalia, Syria and Zimbabwe in response to flooding, displacement and drought. Ongoing Early Action Fund activities include anticipatory action to flooding and drought risks in Nepal and Kenya. In 2025 CARE will incorporate learning from this first phase to increase the scale and sustainability of the Early Action Fund.
