humanitarian aid

See the following -

Africa: Open-Source Opens Up Architecture For The Poor

Rachel Mundy | AllAfrica.com | August 10, 2013

Architects and community leaders are combining forces to lead the way in creating many types of innovative housing in developing nations as part of an open-source collaboration. Read More »

Announcing Ushahidi Trusted Developers

Heather Leson | Ushahidi | September 24, 2012

First up, I’m delighted to share that we are changing the Trusted Developer program...We are excited to announce the following additional Trusted Developers for 2012. These developers have lead in the Ushahidi community for over a year. We recommend their work and seek their guidance was we plan the roadmap for Ushahidi 3.0. Read More »

At Datajam, Innovators And Entrepreneurs Unleash Open Data For Global Development

Rajiv Shah and Todd Park | USAID.gov | January 3, 2012

A remarkable new tool is becoming increasingly available to help end extreme poverty and ensure dignity and opportunity for people around the world—a tool that few people think about when they consider how to bolster international development efforts. That tool is data, and in particular “open data“. [...] Read More »

Bad Measles Vaccine Kills Up To 50 Children In Northern Syria

Rick Gladstone and Hwaida Saad | The Globe and Mail | September 17, 2014

Spoiled or possibly sabotaged measles vaccine has killed as many as 50 children in insurgent-held areas of northwestern Syria, forcing a suspension of a large-scale vaccination campaign intended to stop the spread of measles, mumps, rubella and polio, volunteer medical organizations reported Wednesday...

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Citizen Cartographers Fill The Gaps In Maps

Hal Hodson | New Scientist | July 5, 2013

...[M]aps are a vital resource, especially when deciding what infrastructure to build or in the event of a humanitarian crisis. Now teams of mappers are working to chart some of the most obscure corners of the developing world using OpenStreetMap (OSM), the citizen-mapping tool that today has over 1 million registered users.

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Crisis Maps: Harnessing The Power Of Big Data To Deliver Humanitarian Assistance

Patrick Meier | Forbes | May 2, 2013

Crisis-mapping technology has emerged in the past five years as a tool to help humanitarian organizations deliver assistance to victims of civil conflicts and natural disasters. Crisis-mapping platforms display eyewitness reports submitted via e-mail, text message, and social media. Read More »

Crowdsource Mapping Helps Recovery Efforts In Philippines

Staff Writer | Here & Now | November 15, 2013

The United Nations says 11 million people are affected by Typhoon Haiyan, which hammered the islands a week ago today. The death toll is now more than 3,000, and the survivors are still struggling to get the food and water they so desperately need. Read More »

Dadaab: Using Mobile Technology For Large Surveys In Emergency Settings

Anahi Ayala Iacucci | Internews | March 22, 2012

In August 2011, Internews led a joint communication and information needs assessment with Radio Ergo / International Media Support (IMS) and Star FM of Kenya, with significant support from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). This assessment aimed at understanding the information needs of refugees in Dadaab and exploring ways to improve the flow of communication between refugees, aid agencies and host communities. Read More »

Deadly Disappointment Awaits At Ebola Clinics Due To Lack Of Space

Drew Hinshaw | The Wall Street Journal | September 7, 2014

...Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea—the three nations bearing the brunt of the [Ebola] outbreak—need at least 1,515 hospital beds for the more than 20,000 people who could be infected before the outbreak can be curtailed, according to World Health Organization estimates...

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Ebola: Voices From The Epicentre Of The Epidemic

Emilie Filou | The Guardian | July 14, 2014

The outbreak of Ebola in West Africa is unrelenting: according to the World Health Organisation there have now been 888 cases and 539 deaths across Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia since the virus was first reported in March this year. The epidemic is unprecedented and the global health community has been left scrambling to contain the disease, for which there is no vaccine or cure...

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FrontlineSMS In The Philippines And The Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) Response

Laura Walker Hudson | FrontlineSMS | November 17, 2013

In the aftermath of devastating Typhoon Haiyan, we’re working with networks of aid agencies to support the international response any way we can – but we know that the first and most important responders are already in the Philippines. Read More »

Hackathons Bring Open Source Innovation to Humanitarian Aid

In open source software, end users, decision makers, subject matter experts, and developers from around the world can work together to create great solutions. There are a lot of mature open source projects out there already in the field of humanitarian and development aid, for example: Ushahidi and Sahana in crisis management and information gathering, OpenMRS for medical records, Martus for secure information sharing in places with limited freedom of speech, and Mifos X, an open platform for financial inclusion for people in poor areas where financial services such as savings, payments, and loans are not offered...

International Meeting Of Crowdsource Mapping Successfully Concluded

Press Release | UN-SPIDER, United Nations (UN) | December 6, 2012

On 5 December 2012, UN-SPIDER concluded a three-day international expert meeting on the topic of Crowdsource Mapping for Disaster Risk Management and Emergency Response. Read More »

Is This The Best Humanity Can Do For The Philippines?

Conor Friedersdorf | The Atlantic | November 11, 2013

Now that a storm, perhaps the most powerful in recorded history, has struck the Philippines, with winds gusting to 170 mph, a storm surge exceeding 20 feet, and an estimated 10,000 people dead; now that bodies are piling up in such quantities that local officials are digging mass graves [...]; now the world is rushing to send help... Read More »

Is This The Best Source Of Ebola Info?

Bob Brewin | Nextgov.com | September 22, 2014

ReliefWeb, a website operated by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, stands out as a rich source of information on the spread of the Ebola virus in West Africa and the international response by governments and nongovernmental organizations worldwide...

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