Getting help to where it's needed most
Before aid agencies can help people in a crisis, their first need is for information. Where are the people in greatest need? Where are the relief resources? Who is doing what already?
MapAction delivers this vital information in mapped form, from information gathered at the disaster scene. By creating a 'shared operational picture', our service is crucial in coordinating response and delivering aid to the right place, quickly.
MapAction is unique. We are the only non-governmental organisation (NGO) with a capacity to deploy a fully trained and equipped humanitarian mapping and information management team anywhere in the world, often within a few hours of an alert.
"Mapping support during the early phases of a response is critical, as responders and donors try to more clearly understand the situation on the ground. Without MapAction, the capacity to provide what is needed often simply doesn't exist." (UN disaster coordination manager, Pakistan flood emergency 2010)
How our emergency mapping service works
MapAction is ready to respond 365 days a year with a volunteer group of geographical information systems (GIS) professionals specially trained in disaster response. They form the most competent and experienced emergency mapping team in the world. In every new emergency, our response is well practised and rapid:
- Mobilisation. We move through a string of alert stages to have a team ready to move within hours. Meanwhile we assemble, from our own databases and other sources, base map data for the affected country.
- Field base. A team is deployed to the disaster zone, often as part of a United Nations Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) mission. Our Field Base forms a crucial part of the emergency information hub in the field.
- Situation data gathering. Reports are received from a wide range of sources in the field, collated, analysed and mapped, to answer the most crucial operational questions: such as: "where are displaced people moving to?", or "what logistics capacity is needed to reach them?".
- Map distribution. Paper maps, updated daily, are issued to aid agencies at the scene. The information is also distributed electronically, for upload to websites and as data feeds for other GIS users.
- Mission handover. A typical mission runs for the crucial first two to three weeks of an emergency. Maps and data are then handed over to national or UN organisations in country. After very large disasters MapAction personnel sometimes remain in country for weeks or months to assist.
Building capacity
When we aren't in the field in emergencies, we use our expertise and volunteer resources to help to prepare for disaster response. We currently do this in two main ways:
- Training humanitarian professionals to use the latest technologies to collect data and produce maps in the field. We teach regularly on courses run by the UN, Red Cross, EU and NGOs, and run our own in-depth courses in partnership with the UK's Royal Geographical Society.
- Working with partner organisations in developing countries to ensure that appropriate map data resources are available in readiness for new disaster emergencies. Recent and current projects focus on vulnerable regions like the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal, Caribbean states, and the Zambezi basin in southern Africa.
How we got here
MapAction's first emergency response was to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Since then we have sent teams to nearly 30 different humanitarian crises: including natural disasters such as the shocking Haiti earthquake and Pakistan floods in 2010, and conflict-related emergencies in Africa and Asia. In these emergencies we have supported thousands of different national and international aid teams bringing help to millions of people whose welfare and very existence have been threatened by devastating events.
Our volunteers work in a range of fields from Antarctic surveying to zoological research. Backing up the operational volunteers is a cadre of full time staff, part-time specialist officials, and a board of trustees.
MapAction is a UK-registered charity based at a small headquarters in Buckinghamshire in south-east England. Our work is supported by the UK Government (DFID) and European Union, however we don't benefit from the major public disaster appeals and we depend on the financial help of organisations and individuals who understand the value of our unusual but vital work.
How you can help
Click here to find out how you can play a role in keeping MapAction’s volunteers ready to respond to disasters around the world.