Youth-led, community-centred MHEWS technology in Libya and Malawi

In climate-vulnerable regions like Malawi and Libya, community-based monitoring initiatives are driving improvements in early warning systems (EWS) capabilities. 

In northern Malawi, the African Drone and Data Academy (ADDA) - established by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in partnership with local and international academic institutions - has equipped over 1,400 young people (60% women) from 25 countries with skills in drone operations, geospatial data, and disaster risk analysis (UNICEF Malawi). ADDA graduates are actively capturing aerial imagery, analysing flood-prone areas, and supporting Malawi's Department of Disaster Management Affairs with risk mapping, forecasting and rapid response. Notably, their contributions to a new flood risk mapping and forecasting system now serve over 236,000 residents. With science, technology, engineering, and mathematics training and real-world disaster applications, the programme empowers youth to co-design solutions for community resilience. 

In Libya, with UNICEF support, the youth-led Roaya Foundation is scaling up Libya Mozn, the country's first real-time EWS. The system launched in 2022, one year before the catastrophic floods in 2023 that affected nearly 1.5 million people. After the floods, Roaya intensified efforts to collect data and provide more accurate early warnings. Using data from 45 weather stations which was updated every two seconds, Libya Mozn monitors a range of hazards including heatwaves, floods, and dust storms. Young community members are trained as climate monitors and technicians, ensuring sustained local ownership. Mozn's visibility is also growing. More than 50,000 users of the Roaya Mozn SmartPhone app receive alerts and safety guidance. Roaya's Facebook page amplifies EWS alerts with 909,000 followers and reaches more than 3 million people overall (93.7% from Libya; 46% women), with most high-engagement posts coming from Mozn updates. A related Facebook group with 100,000 active members regularly share local weather reports, photos and videos . 

These cases illustrate how community-based approaches can dramatically improve hazard detection and response by combining local knowledge with real-time technologies for more accurate forecasting. They also support long-term sustainability by strengthening youth engagement and capacity through inclusive STEM education, fostering co-ownership between communities and institutions, and embedding monitoring tools within digital and social platforms to enhance reach and impact.