Goma, 23 Jun – MapAction has recently completed a two-week training mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Two mapping professionals deployed to Goma in the east of the country, which has suffered from civil war, volcanic eruptions and the presence of rebel groups in recent years.  The team was based at UNICEF’s offices in the city, with the aim of building capacity for humanitarian mapping both within UNICEF and partner organisations. In addition, the mission aimed to review existing mapping and data management processes within UNICEF.

MapAction ran two separate training courses – an Introduction to Geographical Information Systems and Spatial Analysis. A total of 32 delegates from UNICEF and 11 partner organisations attended the training.

A final report containing recommendations to improve map production processes, data management and to promote the use of geographical information within decision-making has been provided to UNICEF.