World Humanitarian Day: Reflections from MapAction members

As we celebrate World Humanitarian Day, a handful of MapAction members reflect on why they continue to use their skills for the good of humanitarian relief.

Tiago Canelas

Maps resonate deeply with people. They see their stories in them, and that sense of ownership is empowering. In times of crisis, people seek hope and control over their future.

Tiago Canelas.

For many years, I’ve worked in global health, developing spatial models and insights to improve lives in low and middle-income countries. One thing became clear along the way: maps resonate deeply with people. They see their stories in them, and that sense of ownership is empowering. In times of crisis, people seek hope and control over their future. That’s why I joined MapAction, to make a broader impact by using the power of maps to give those most in need a voice and a path to a brighter future.

Jiri Klic

Throughout history people of every generation have faced their own challenges, and I genuinely believe that the UN SDGs are the greatest and most important challenge of our lifetime.

Jiri Klic, left, during MapAction’s annual simulation exercise, MapEx2024. Photo: MapAction

My motivation to get involved with the humanitarian sector is deeply rooted in my passion for the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Throughout history people of every generation have faced their own challenges, and I genuinely believe that the UN SDGs are the greatest and most important challenge of our lifetime. That being said, I have been inspired to join MapAction by my great friend and former colleague Cate Seale, who is also one of the MapAction members. Hopefully, my transparency on the subject of personal approach will serve as an inspiration to others.

Lavern Ryan

I will never forget how I felt at that moment. The moment that I had just received confirmation that I was being deployed to support the relief efforts for Hurricane Beryl. There were so many emotions that overpowered me.

I chose to become a Map Action volunteer because I wanted to do more. I wanted to be in a better position to offer assistance and use my skills in geospatial technologies to better contribute to humanitarian efforts during a disaster. In 2017, when Hurricane Irma and Maria hit the neighbouring Caribbean Islands, I felt helpless and hopeless. This time around however, I was better prepared and well placed to say yes without hesitation. Brighten the corner, where you are is a song by Ina D. Ogdon that I identify with and live by. MapAction has afforded me the opportunity to help my Caribbean brothers and sisters in the best way I know how. I am grateful also to my family and friends who have supported me along this journey.

I will never forget how I felt at that moment. The moment that I had just received confirmation that I was being deployed to support the relief efforts for Hurricane Beryl. There were so many emotions that overpowered me. I was happy yet at the same time sad. I was excited, yet at the same time overwhelmed. I was anxious, yet I was calm.

READ ALSO: Meet a MapAction pioneer on International Women’s Day

I had not long returned home to Montserrat on the heels of completing MapAction’s Annual Disaster Simulation Exercise in the UK: MapEx. I felt prepared and ready. As a Caribbean-based MapAction Volunteer, I previously remotely deployed where I responded to the 2021 Volcanic eruption in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. This deployment however was different. I was being deployed in the field.

Lavern at MapEx2024. Photo: MapAction

As a Caribbean resident, I have grown accustomed to getting prepared for the hurricane season. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through to November 30. Hurricane Beryl was the earliest-forming Category 5 hurricane on record! Beginning with the letter “B”, as its name implies, it was the second named storm for the year, but still the first hurricane for 2024. When Hurricane Beryl made landfall on July 1st, the damage and casualties were widespread. Hurricane Beryl caused catastrophic damage on Grenada’s northern islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique and on several of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines’ southern islands, such as Union Island and Canouan.

READ MORE: ‘Hurricane season’ blog

Uncertain of exactly which island I would be deployed to, I travelled from Montserrat to Barbados to report to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA).  MapAction and CDEMA have a strong working relationship, collaboration and partnership. My other two (2) fellow MapAction Team Members went ahead to St. Vincent to offer support there. I boarded the Barbados Coast Guard Vessel, along with a team from the United Nations Disaster and Coordination (UNDAC) team and several Defense Force groups from neighbouring islands. We set sail for Carriacou. The pictures on social media did not encapsulate the magnitude of devastation which caught my eyes on Carriacou. Everything was totally devastated! I tried to imagine what the residents of this island endured during the passage of the storm.

Damage to buildings in Carriacou caused by Hurricane Beryl. Photo: Lavern Ryan

The days that followed saw me working closely with the team at the National Disaster Management Agency (NaDMA). I assisted in producing maps such as: Humanitarian Relief Effort, Active Emergency Shelter Population and Pop-Up Shelters, Logistic structures and Structural Damage Assessment on Carriacou and Petite Martinique.

Indigo Brownhall

This is what motivates me: the drive to support disasters and humanitarian events straight after, using GIS and mapping to get aid to those who need it most – while supporting coordination and bringing the power of a map to a response.

Indigo Brownhall (left) in Eswatini for MapAction.

In 2019, I was lucky enough to visit and study the Upper Bhote Koshi River on the border between China and Nepal, staring at a landslide that had removed an entire village off the side of the mountain, destroyed the only access road, and resulted in displacement and casualties of many residents. Standing there, I could only hope that the research that I was conducting would support the development of the area’s future environmental resilience. This experience caused me to reflect on the impact that support work in the immediate aftermath of an event could have on communities’ short and long-term outcomes.

This inspired my ever-strengthening interest and love for the role of geospatial and earth in both sustainability, natural disasters and the wider humanitarian sector. But most importantly, how as an industry we can support communities both in the short and long term.

MapAction aims to provide this and I truly believe that every single staff member and volunteer has this in mind. This is what motivates me: the drive to support disasters and humanitarian events straight after, using GIS and mapping to get aid to those who need it most – while supporting coordination and bringing the power of a map to a response.

Elena Field

I decided to get involved as I have always wanted to use the skills I had to help people. MapAction is a fantastic organisation with dedicated people who share that drive to help others.

MapAction member Elena Field.

My main driver is learning new things and putting that learning into practice to help other people. The training MapAction run throughout the year and the simulation exercises all feed into an atmosphere of constant improvement in how we can help others better.

For me the most impactful experience I’ve had so far has to be watching a debrief in the Hurricane Beryl response where the lead responders used maps we produced to guide their decision making. It really felt then that the all the training and simulation exercises had paid off seeing our work helping people in real time.

WATCH ALSO: What is MapAction?

MapAction’s work in geospatial is funded by USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO), UNICEF, Calleva Foundation and other foundations, private individuals and companies. Learn more here.

Meet Gemma and Charlotte on International Girls in ICT Day

Left: Head of Geospatial Services Gemma Davies. Right: Geospatial Coordinator Charlotte Moss. Image: MapAction.

International Girls in ICT Day, celebrated every April, aims to celebrate female leadership in ICT. “Women are nearly absent from software development, engineering, technology research, academia as well as at the highest levels of policy making. They also tend to leave science and technology jobs at higher rates than men,” states the commemorative day’s UN website. MapAction is nevertheless home to dozens of women staff and volunteers who are software developers, academics, data scientists or geospatial engineers to mention but a few specialisations. We spoke with two: Head of Geospatial Services Gemma Davies and Geospatial Coordinator Charlotte Moss about their passion for geospatial technology and maps.

GEMMA DAVIES, HEAD OF GEOSPATIAL SERVICES

Q: What made you want to get into working with geospatial information systems? 

Gemma: I’ve always loved logical problem solving and when I was first introduced to GIS at university I realised GIS was the perfect way to apply my logical analytical skills to the geography I was interested in.

Q: What is your official job title at MapAction?

Gemma: Head of Geospatial Services.

Q: What have you been working on recently?

Gemma: Most recently I have been working on improvements to our GIS training offer that will help equip people working in organisations like national disaster management agencies to make use of GIS in their work.

Q: What’s next on the horizon?

Gemma: In addition to training development, next on the horizon includes working with our innovation and technology team to automate consistent sourcing and processing of the datasets we most frequently use for emergency response.

Q: What do you like most about your job? 

Gemma: The job is really varied and you get to apply GIS very practically in a way that may positively impact people’s lives.

GIS is a powerful tool that aids understanding of the world around us and enhances decision-making.  Channelling this power in a way that uses the tools to benefit potentially at-risk populations is so important. 

Q: Why does GIS4Good matter?

Gemma: GIS is a powerful tool that aids understanding of the world around us and enhances decision making.  Channelling this power in a way that uses the tools to benefit potentially at-risk populations is so important. 

Three things you love about maps.

Gemma: They provide a virtual insight into places you are yet to explore; they bring information to life in new ways and they can help inform important decision-making.

READ ALSO: She survived a volcanic eruption and helped rebuild her island afterwards. Meet Lavern Ryan, a MapAction volunteer and GIS aficionado.

CHARLOTTE MOSS: GEOSPATIAL COORDINATOR

As a child I used to spend hours drawing treasure maps. Now I get to solve actual geospatial problems using GIS software rather than pencils!

READ ALSO: Putting children on the map in West and Central Africa through geo-spatial analysis

LEARN MORE: What is MapAction (video)?

CoP 28 : Good use of data is key to mitigating the climate emergency 

MapAction urges world leaders and stakeholders gathered at COP28 to promote data-driven solutions to improve the lives of people on the front lines of climate change. (A version of this article was first published before CoP27 in Egypt in 2022. It was updated for CoP28 in November 2023. )

In recent years we have seen a large increase in the number of natural disasters worldwide. Regular climate-related disasters are exacerbating water and food insecurity. 

How emergency relief stakeholders and governments coordinate their responses to the climate emergency can impact the recovery of affected communities. That is why good data is key to preparedness and mitigation, especially in locations with limited resources. 

Ice and snow on the Hindu Kush mountain range, which runs along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, is melting and causing devastating floods in both countries. Photo: MapAction

As the changing climate ravages and displaces some of the world’s poorest communities, good data use will not prevent such climate-driven occurrences. It can only soften the effects by helping the affected communities, and stakeholders, to be prepared and to coordinate relief strategies. Good use of data in decision-making at key moments can reduce the human cost of the climate emergency. 

“Data, often visualised through maps, can help identify who the most vulnerable people are, where they are, and highlight need,” said Nick Moody, MapAction’s chair of trustees, before CoP27 in 2022. “At CoP27 there was a recognition that while this information is critical during a crisis, it can have an even greater effect if used in advance. MapAction has a huge role to play in helping others to build resilience through data.”

Why MapAction?

Since MapAction’s inception over 20 years ago, the charity has provided data and specialist technical geospatial and data volunteers in more than 140 crises, many climate-related, worldwide. Our team has supported responses alongside UN, regional and national agencies as well as INGOs and local civil society organisations, providing relief to some of the most vulnerable climate-exposed people worldwide. 

READ ALSO: MapAction urges wider adoption of GIS for disaster resilience at UN Expert Meeting

Our 70+ volunteers come from across the ever-growing range of sectors using data and geospatial technology, bringing a huge diversity of technical expertise. MapAction gives them the training, operational experience and support needed to operate effectively in humanitarian situations. 

Working in collaboration with many emergency relief partners, our teams create unique situation maps, data visualisations, data sets and other products that help coordinate disaster relief using the best available information in the most insightful ways. The improved decisions they enable can help mitigate, for example, the impact of droughts, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, famines and health crises, to save lives and protect communities. In 2023 alone, MapAction has provided data products, volunteer mapping teams or experts to support emergency response, anticipatory action programmes or capacity building in a dozen countries in five continents.

READ ALSO: MapAction continues to strengthen global disaster preparedness in summer of 2023

From response to anticipation

While MapAction’s initial expertise was in support of emergency response, our work is increasingly moving into early warning and preparedness. Anthropogenic climate change has been proven to alter both the likelihood and the severity of extreme weather events around the world, and the growing frequency of these can be predicted, if not precisely then generally. Being ready to spot the indicators, triggering early support for anticipatory action can be life-saving. Predictive analytics can allow us to define the mechanisms that trigger these actions by analysing current and historical data and developing models, as long as the data is reliable.

READ ALSO: Why we must address the gender gap in humanitarian data

“It is more important than ever to be able to respond effectively to such events, but also to be able to anticipate them, in order to more effectively mitigate their impact,” Daniele Castellana, former lead Data Scientist at MapAction, commented before CoP27. “Through our collaborations with the Centre for Humanitarian Data and the Start Network, MapAction has been working on this flourishing component of humanitarian aid.” MapAction launched its own InnovationHub in 2022.

READ ALSO: MapAction Data Science Lab: the story so far

Early action is one of the most effective ways to address the ever-growing climate impacts. That is why MapAction has partnered with the START Network, a coalition that focuses on humanitarian action through innovation, fast funding and early action; Insurance Development Forum is also a partner in this work. START Network brings together 55 international non-governmental organisations and 7,000 partners worldwide. MapAction is also working with INFORM to support updating forecast and risk models with select national disaster management agencies worldwide.

READ ALSO: 7 Country Missions Completed Successfully as Part of Phase 1 Programme for Anticipatory Action and Disaster Risk Reduction

From commitment to action

MapAction has made concrete commitments to actively seek solutions to reduce the impact of climate change. In October 2021, we signed the Climate and Environment Charter for Humanitarian Organisations. The charter was developed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and guided by a 19-person strong Advisory Committee which included representatives of local, national and international NGOs, UN agencies and National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, as well as academics, researchers and experts in the humanitarian, development, climate and environmental fields.

Signing that charter commits us to being a part of the solution and helping people adapt to a changing climate and environment. It will also help strengthen our own resolve and efforts to be environmentally sustainable. Most of all, it recognises that our efforts must be a collective endeavour – no organisation can tackle this alone.

Together with a growing range of partners, looking to engage ever more locally, we are using geospatial data, data visualization and data science to start laying the groundwork for climate resilience. The objective is to improve preventive actions and strategies in humanitarian response. 

Because what we map today we can mitigate tomorrow and in the future. That is why the science of how we source, analyze, shape, share and deploy data must be at the heart of all current and future discussions on adapting to climate change. 

For more info on MapAction’s work, please drop by our website

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If you haven’t yet done so, please do subscribe to our newsletter to receive regular updates on our work. 

A version of this article was first published before CoP27 in Egypt in 2022. It was updated for CoP28 in November 2023.

MapAction’s work in geospatial is funded by USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO), UNICEF, Calleva Foundation and other foundations, private individuals and companies. Learn more here.

Ode to a geospatial humanitarian partnership and shared values

From Mexico to South Sudan, Malawi and worldwide, MapAction and CartONG have worked together for nearly a decade to bring geospatial solutions to the humanitarian aid and international development sector. Our underlying core shared values help us support NGOs and aid actors for more impactful assistance.

Image: CartONG.

What happens if information barriers aren’t broken down for humanitarian agencies in emergencies? Food gets sent to the wrong people, search and rescue teams are misinformed, temporary settlements are set up in misguided places. Lives are lost or ruined because the right data was missing.

Breaking down information barriers

At MapAction and CartONG we embrace and live by the same values embedded in a single idea: the application of geospatial technology to improve the quality and impact of humanitarian assistance and development projects. Every map, mapathon, training event, data analysis tool or geospatial element of disaster preparedness we co-strive to create can be the key to getting aid to a stricken community or to understanding and preparing for the worst effects of a drought, flood or health emergency. These shared core values and resources have led to a beautiful cross-channel partnership between UK-based MapAction and France-based CartONG. A partnership that aims to improve the impact of aid actions by providing decision-makers and vulnerable communities with the right data to understand and mitigate any crisis.

Decade-long partnership

Our partnership has already lasted nearly a decade. As part of the Covid-19 response, MapAction seconded staff to help CartONG with the surge of activities in its partnership with Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). Having already worked together for several years on various projects, including as part of the H2H Network, a peer-to-peer humanitarian network, MapAction and CartONG signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work more closely together in 2020.

READ ALSO: MapAction strengthens partnership with CartONG

READ MORE: CartONG strengthens collaboration with MapAction via the signing of a MoU

CartONG and MapAction have since worked together on a number of different projects. In Mexico, together with UNICEF and the Mexican government, MapAction and CartONG supported the creation of a dashboard aiming to display and monitor real-time information on key education indicators on elementary schools at the national level in order to map COVID-19 affectations before the start of the new school year in 2020. It was created to display and monitor real-time information on key education indicators for all elementary schools. This relied on over 200,000 individual schools uploading their data on a daily basis, and was the first time that this information would be collected and displayed at a national level.

Screenshot from a dashboard on the Mexico project. Image: Screenshot/UNICEF.

READ ALSO: Developing an analytic dashboard for back to school follow-up in Mexico with MapAction

READ MORE: Post-COVID Progress: Helping Mexican schools reopen

In South Sudan, MapAction and CartONG, together with other partners, worked to  identify the data challenges that might slow down ‘final mile’ vaccine delivery in a challenging data environment. One outcome of this work was the Integrated Humanitarian Data Package, that aimed to give quick and easy access to key geographic data that underpins the planning and delivery of vaccination programmes. This pilot health project highlighted the vital role that geospatial technology can play in creating effective healthcare solutions. High quality mapping and data analysis is key to understanding how many people need vaccinating, where they are, and how and where the vaccines can be safely stored and delivered.

READ ALSO: South Sudan data package to support effective and equitable Covid vaccine delivery

In 2023, CartONG and MapAction again used the IHDP to map the outbreak of cholera in Malawi. We are also both partners on the ‘UNICEF Geospatial Hotline’, where interested UN departments can request specific geospatial services from our organisations.

As we look ahead, we know the crises we try to mitigate will become evermore complex and challenging; the funding landscape evermore volatile. That is why our partnership continues to grow and why the alliances we are building with organisations like H2H, UNICEF and Start Network are so vital. We will soon also be announcing a new and exciting joint-project linked to health in West Africa. More on that soon.

We both remain committed to continue to deliver capacity building events and projects worldwide to strengthen disaster preparedness and improve the impact of humanitarian assistance.

Souhaitez-vous lire cet article en français ? Cliquez ici!

MapAction’s work in geospatial is funded by USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO), UNICEF, Calleva Foundation and other foundations, private individuals and companies. Learn more here.

MapAction urges wider adoption of GIS for disaster resilience at UN Expert Meeting

MapAction’s Head of Programme Development spoke at the UNGGIM this week, promoting the efficiencies that can be gained by effective use of geospatial services to meet the priorities of the  Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in understanding risk and vulnerability, governance, financing and especially in early warning and preparedness to respond in emergencies. The UNGGIM is the UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management.

MapAction’s Alan Mills adresses UNGGIM meeting. Aug 2023

The full text of Alan’s statement is as follows.

I make this statement on behalf of the Not for Profit Organization, MapAction. MapAction notes the report of the Working Group on Geospatial Information and Services on Disaster and thanks the group for its efforts over the intersessional period.”

“We remind the Expert Committee that the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, adopted by 187 member states of the United Nations has seven years remaining to deliver its targets. The Sendai Framework relies on information management and mapping across its remit, to understand
disaster risk and resilience, to aid the strengthening of disaster risk governance, support investment in DRR and enhance preparedness for effective disaster response.”

“Given the increasing humanitarian demands around the globe, whether from meteorological events and climate change impacts, seismic shocks, food insecurity or displacement, the implementation of the UN-IGIF and application of the guidelines set out in the Strategic Framework of Disasters provides geospatial resource efficiencies in helping to build resilience and support the most vulnerable in our communities.”

“As resilience building is a priority for all your citizens MapAction urges more Member State delegations to actively participate in the working group in disasters, shape its workplan to be robust to address these priorities and demonstrate active implementation of IGIF and the SFD in support of disaster risk reduction.”

“Partners not just from the existing UN geospatial network, the academic network and the private sector network but also geospatial civil society organizations, including MapAction, who have no network presence within this Expert Committee, and non-geospatial practitioners in resilience building and emergency response all stand by to be consulted, provide context, technical innovation and resource to deliver on this remit once direction is given.”

Alan was also a Panellist in the UNGGIM Side Meeting – ‘Authoritative Data in an Evolving Geospatial Landscape‘, promoting the specific data needs of responders to humanitarian crises. MapAction has been a regular attendee at UNGGIM for several years, in our Official Observer Role. Over this time we have contributed to moving the agenda forwards significantly in terms of improved geospatial data availability for humanitarian purposes.

MapAction’s work in geospatial is funded by USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO), UNICEF, Calleva Foundation and other foundations, private individuals and companies. Learn more here.

MapAction attends UN Global Geospatial Information Management event

MapAction’s Chief Executive, Liz Hughes, and senior geospatial expert member, Alan Mills, are at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. They are representing MapAction at the twelfth session of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM), under MapAction’s official observer status.

The event, held from 3 – 5 August 2022 (side events from 1 August), comprises designated Member State experts and relevant international organisations. It seeks to promote international cooperation in global geospatial information management and provide an international forum for coordination and dialogue. 

Led by Member States, UN-GGIM sessions seek to address global challenges regarding the production, availability and application of geospatial information, including in development agendas and policymaking. This includes joint decision-making and setting directions towards nationally integrated geospatial information management within national, regional and global policy frameworks and development agendas.

MapAction’s Alan Mills presented and was a panel member at the ‘Geospatial Information and Services for Disasters’ side event on 1 August. He discussed the challenges and suggested ways to apply geospatial information across complex humanitarian problems. 

Disaster responses can take many forms and include multiple stakeholders, but he put forward that whatever the combination of these complex dimensions, reliable, consistent and well presented information, geographical information in particular, is essential. This will allow those involved to understand and identify the vulnerabilities and risks, what is happening, who has been affected and what resources people need to recover.

He drew on the experience MapAction has in supporting governments, international and regional agencies, civil society organisations and communities. He then outlined four brief scenarios that highlight the need for sharing timely, accurate, information, analysing it effectively and communicating through good visualisation. The intention was to show that UN-GGIM can and should provide the gold standard, allowing humanitarian and emergency response workers to relieve suffering and leave no one behind.

MapAction Chief Executive Liz Hughes said: “MapAction has been working to help manage global humanitarian crises for 20 years. We therefore have a lot of experience to share, in terms of how we have worked with governments, UN and other agencies and civil society organisations. We want to strengthen the system and are looking at ways to increase protection and reduce vulnerability. UN-GGIM provides a great forum to meet with other experts in the field and to jointly set the future agenda.”

MapAction’s work in geospatial is funded by USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO), UNICEF, Calleva Foundation and other foundations, private individuals and companies. Learn more here.

South Sudan data package to support effective and equitable Covid vaccine delivery

COVID-19 has been tough for all of us but the development of COVID-19 vaccines should offer a lifeline to the whole world. However, for many, especially those in the world’s poorer countries, it’s yet to make an impact. 

As part of the drive to provide equitable access to vaccines, international agencies involved in COVAX need to ensure that countries are ready to accept delivery and coordinate the roll-out.

With this in mind, MapAction, with funding from the Calleva Foundation, partnered with expert geospatial colleagues from CartONG, OpenMap Development Tanzania, the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, Afrimapr/LSTHM, Mapbox and Esri, to create a novel concept called the Integrated Humanitarian Data Package (IHDP). This aims to give quick and easy access to key geographic data that underpins the planning and delivery of vaccination programmes. 

The single package contains not only selected data sets, but also information explaining the data (‘metadata’), together with a set of GIS (geographic information system) and coding tools to easily develop situation-specific items such as maps and other graphics, depending on user-need. This will give organisations managing vaccine delivery in vulnerable countries a running start, once vaccines become available. 

Nick McWilliam, IHDP project lead at MapAction said, “High quality mapping and data analysis are key to understanding how many people need vaccinating, where they are, and how and where the vaccines can be safely stored and delivered. We know that access to good data is a major issue in many countries. Even where data exists, it’s frequently patchy and not in a format that is usable by most people, as well as lacking crucial information about the local context. The IHDP concept is intended to remove barriers to good information that are otherwise likely to hinder vaccine delivery.”  

The pilot project focused on creating an IHDP for South Sudan, however, the lessons learned are applicable across many other countries where population information is often too poor for effective logistics.  

The IHDP is designed to be used by non-GIS experts with coordination and management responsibilities and ensures that they can easily use good quality data in a readily usable format. It’s also designed to reduce the time and effort needed, removing barriers for responders so they can quickly understand and respond to often complex situations. 

The data produced will be freely accessible via MapAction’s Map and Data repository and also published on The Africa GeoPortal

“The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented demand for data in the humanitarian sector, but persistent data gaps remain. With every country in the world affected by COVID-19, the disparity in data availability in countries experiencing humanitarian crises became more clear.”

The State of Open Humanitarian Data, 2021: Assessing Data Availability Across Humanitarian Crises. OCHA Centre for Humanitarian Data and Humanitarian Data Exchange

We are also sharing this information amongst the humanitarian community and international agencies involved in the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out.

See a video interview with Nick McWilliam, IHDP Project Lead.