Although Africa has long been seen as the forgotten continent, it is more important now to the United States and the rest of the world than ever before. Home to 6 of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world, the continent is increasingly in the eye of foreign investors from London, New York, Shanghai and Dubai. Here are some of the innovations that are changing the face of Africa in this rapid transformation from an allegedly “lost” continent to a new growth engine.
1. Start-ups and incubators
Innovation hubs like iHub in Nairobi, Co-Creation Hub in Lagos and the Silicon Cape Initiative in South Africa are now competing with the already well-established initiatives in the start-up capitals of San Francisco, London and Berlin. These communities are giving African start-ups access to capital and the advice they need to take new products to the market.
2. Afro-entrepreneurs
Omidyar Network has highlighted the growing number of “afro-entrepreneurs” that are emerging all across the continent with innovations that are uniquely African. One such example is Bridge International Academies, with over 46,000 students enrolled in their schools across Kenya. This is an initiative that commoditizes schools; pupils pay just $5 dollars a month to study at one of their “Academies-in-a-Box.”
3. Local technology producers
Several African technology firms have begun to design and produce mobile and computing hardware tailored to local needs. In the Republic of Congo, for example, there is VMK’s Way-C, an affordable Android tablet, and in Kenya, the Nairobi-based company Ushahidi developed BRCK, a black box designed to address unreliable power and data connections that has been dubbed the “backup generator for the Internet.”
4. Smartphones built for Africa
Major firms are starting to produce smartphones made specifically for African consumers. The Chinese company Huawei, for example, recently introduced its new product, 4Afrika, an affordable smartphone which will let users benefit from the growing data connectivity across the continent.
5. The maker movement
This trend from the developed world, which has seen millions of people creating and selling self-made products, has officially made it to Africa. The movement’s trademark event, the Maker Faire, took place last year in Lagos. The most notable locally produced product that resulted from this event was a generator designed and built by four teenage girls that uses 1 liter of urine to produce 6 hours of electricity.
6. Greater connectivity
Africa is leading the way when it comes to developing innovative solutions for limited connectivity. By taking advantage of unused radio and TV frequencies, providers are able to widen data coverage to include countless rural areas through white space technology. Microsoft has already partnered with Kenyan regulators and Google with South Africa’s ICASA to show that broadband can be offered over white spaces.
7. Mobile money
Africa is frequently seen as leading the world in mobile money solutions. In December 2012, Visa launched mVisa in Rwanda to serve the unbanked, improve ATM services across Rwanda and promote electronic payments which will contribute to formalizing the economy.
8. mHealth
Health organizations have started to use mobile technology to address critical medical needs. SMS, in particular, is being used for countless needs, such as sharing vital information with expectant mothers or sending reminders to HIV/AIDS patients about taking their anitretrovirals. In Malawi, Baobab Health is developing solutions to replace traditional paper-based systems.
9. eLearning
Initiatives like One Laptop Per Child, Samsung’s e-learning technology platform, and solar-powered schools are innovative ways to ensure that students across the continent have access to up-to-date information and online resources, and are able to interact with teachers even when geographical obstacles stand in the way. Other organizations such as Wikipedia have teamed up with Orange to provide free access to the online encyclopedia to anyone with a mobile phone in Africa.
10. Social media
The use of social media is rising at astronomical rates in Africa. Besides Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, Africans are also creating and using local social media platforms, such as MXit, which has over 50 million users who can use the platform to chat and play games at low data costs.
– Nayomi Chibana
Feature Writer
Sources: Portland, Center for Global Development
Photo: Education Innovations
10 Innovations That Are Changing the Face of Africa
Although Africa has long been seen as the forgotten continent, it is more important now to the United States and the rest of the world than ever before. Home to 6 of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world, the continent is increasingly in the eye of foreign investors from London, New York, Shanghai and Dubai. Here are some of the innovations that are changing the face of Africa in this rapid transformation from an allegedly “lost” continent to a new growth engine.
1. Start-ups and incubators
Innovation hubs like iHub in Nairobi, Co-Creation Hub in Lagos and the Silicon Cape Initiative in South Africa are now competing with the already well-established initiatives in the start-up capitals of San Francisco, London and Berlin. These communities are giving African start-ups access to capital and the advice they need to take new products to the market.
2. Afro-entrepreneurs
Omidyar Network has highlighted the growing number of “afro-entrepreneurs” that are emerging all across the continent with innovations that are uniquely African. One such example is Bridge International Academies, with over 46,000 students enrolled in their schools across Kenya. This is an initiative that commoditizes schools; pupils pay just $5 dollars a month to study at one of their “Academies-in-a-Box.”
3. Local technology producers
Several African technology firms have begun to design and produce mobile and computing hardware tailored to local needs. In the Republic of Congo, for example, there is VMK’s Way-C, an affordable Android tablet, and in Kenya, the Nairobi-based company Ushahidi developed BRCK, a black box designed to address unreliable power and data connections that has been dubbed the “backup generator for the Internet.”
4. Smartphones built for Africa
Major firms are starting to produce smartphones made specifically for African consumers. The Chinese company Huawei, for example, recently introduced its new product, 4Afrika, an affordable smartphone which will let users benefit from the growing data connectivity across the continent.
5. The maker movement
This trend from the developed world, which has seen millions of people creating and selling self-made products, has officially made it to Africa. The movement’s trademark event, the Maker Faire, took place last year in Lagos. The most notable locally produced product that resulted from this event was a generator designed and built by four teenage girls that uses 1 liter of urine to produce 6 hours of electricity.
6. Greater connectivity
Africa is leading the way when it comes to developing innovative solutions for limited connectivity. By taking advantage of unused radio and TV frequencies, providers are able to widen data coverage to include countless rural areas through white space technology. Microsoft has already partnered with Kenyan regulators and Google with South Africa’s ICASA to show that broadband can be offered over white spaces.
7. Mobile money
Africa is frequently seen as leading the world in mobile money solutions. In December 2012, Visa launched mVisa in Rwanda to serve the unbanked, improve ATM services across Rwanda and promote electronic payments which will contribute to formalizing the economy.
8. mHealth
Health organizations have started to use mobile technology to address critical medical needs. SMS, in particular, is being used for countless needs, such as sharing vital information with expectant mothers or sending reminders to HIV/AIDS patients about taking their anitretrovirals. In Malawi, Baobab Health is developing solutions to replace traditional paper-based systems.
9. eLearning
Initiatives like One Laptop Per Child, Samsung’s e-learning technology platform, and solar-powered schools are innovative ways to ensure that students across the continent have access to up-to-date information and online resources, and are able to interact with teachers even when geographical obstacles stand in the way. Other organizations such as Wikipedia have teamed up with Orange to provide free access to the online encyclopedia to anyone with a mobile phone in Africa.
10. Social media
The use of social media is rising at astronomical rates in Africa. Besides Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, Africans are also creating and using local social media platforms, such as MXit, which has over 50 million users who can use the platform to chat and play games at low data costs.
– Nayomi Chibana
Feature Writer
Sources: Portland, Center for Global Development
Photo: Education Innovations
African Natural Resources Make the World Go Round
Countless everyday appliances and gadgets would not exist if it were not for the minerals that come from Africa. From cars to cell phones, laptops, airplanes and batteries, much of what makes the world go round depends on resource-rich African nations that are being fueled by a global commodities boom.
Although much can be said of whether the rising demand for these minerals is actually benefiting those at the bottom of the pyramid, it is certain that emergent African economies are growing thanks to these raw materials. If well-managed, Africa’s mineral resources can lift the continent out of poverty and catapult it toward growth and prosperity for all.
Here are some of the everyday objects that are created with African natural resources.
1. Cars
The catalytic converters in cars that are made to reduce pollution are made with platinum and rhodium. South Africa alone produces 72% of the world’s platinum and 83% of the world’s rhodium.
2. Electronics
Devices such as cell phones, laptops, and other electronic gadgets are made from tantalum. Africa provides 71% of the world’s tantalum, with Mozambique leading the region as the source of 24% of the global production of the mineral, followed by Rwanda with 20% of the production.
3. Jewelry
In 2011, more than 57% of the world’s diamonds, nearly 75% of the world’s platinum and 20% of the world’s gold was found in Africa. Botswana is the world’s second largest producer of gem diamonds, and in 2011, the diamond industry accounted for half of the government revenue.
4. Batteries
The cobalt used in the electrodes of rechargeable batteries is growing rapidly in demand due to the use of portable electronic devices. In 2011, Africa accounted for 58% of the global production of cobalt, while the Democratic Republic of Congo alone represented 48% of this supply. Mineral mining, however, has been implicated in funding conflict in the country.
5. Airplanes
Many aircraft parts are made with aluminum alloys, which can account for up to 80% of the jet’s weight. Jet engines also use superalloys that contain cobalt and chromium. South Africa represents 47% of the global production of chromite – used to produce chromium -, while Guinea represents 8% of the world’s production of bauxite, used to make aluminum. Guinea has almost half of the world’s bauxite reserves and is predicted to become a world-leading producer of iron ore in the next decade.
6. Electricity
Besides coal and gas, Africa produces 16% of the world’s uranium, which is the source of the nuclear fuel that provides 14% of the world’s electricity.
7. Oil
Last year, Africa produced 10% of all the world’s oil – nearly 9.4 million barrels per day. Leading this production is Nigeria, with 37 billion barrels of proven reserves of oil – enough to keep supplying oil at 2011 levels for the next 40 years.
– Nayomi Chibana
Feature Writer
Sources: African Minerals Development Centre, CNN
Photo: CSMonitor
Nodding Syndrome Disease
Nodding Syndrome first appeared in the 1960’s in South Sudan. It attacks healthy children between the ages of 5 – 15. The disease gained its name from its most notable symptoms. Children tend to “nod off,” or temporarily lose consciousness or fall asleep although they do not report feeling tired. The nodding is often triggered by cold temperatures or eating and is accompanied by cognitive impairment. The incidence of the disease has increased over the past 10 years in Uganda, South Sudan and Tanzania. The CDC published a report on Nodding Syndrome in September 2013. It explains that the nodding episodes are actually atonic seizures of unknown origin, “Nodding Syndrome is an unexplained endemic epilepsy.”
The symptoms worsen over time and children begin to experience worsening seizures; they stop eating and eventually lose their physical and mental capacity. The disease is not fatal but children often die by falling into cooking fires, drowning during a seizure, or succumbing to malnutrition related illnesses. Parents also lose patience caring for their disabled children and often abandon them.
Other parents resort to extreme measures in order to keep their children from falling and hurting or killing themselves while nodding. Other bizarre symptoms include the disorientation and confusion; children often wander off and get lost in the woods. Global Health Front Line News spoke with one woman who has tied her 15-year-old son to the house for years in order to keep him safe. The boy is confused, angry and frustrated.
It is unclear why the disease only strikes children. Many experience severely stunted growth due to malnutrition and some do not survive to adulthood. Epilepsy drugs have been used to treat the syndrome and while they sometimes help with symptoms they do not cure the child completely. Recent studies have confirmed that Nodding Syndrome is a disease of the brain. Children have abnormal EEGs and their MRIs show atrophy.
A possible theory is that the disease develops from onchocerciasis, a parasitic condition that can cause blindness. Dr. Tenywa from the World Health Organization reports that all children he has studied with Nodding Syndrome also have this condition. However onchocerciasis occurs all over Africa and Nodding Syndrome is isolated to Uganda, Sudan and Tanzania.
In Pander, a rural community in Northern Uganda, more than 3,000 children have been stuck with the debilitating disease. It has devastated the community; almost every family has at least one child affected. In Pander there has been a makeshift ward created for the children. However, it is really just a place where parents dump their children when they can no longer care for them. The Ministry of Health developed five of these wards in Northern Uganda over the past few years.
The World Health Organization and the CDC are still looking for answers to what is causing this disease but they will continue conducting research until more concrete information on the cause of this peculiar disease and ultimately a treatment or cure can be found.
– Lisa Toole
Sources: Global Health Front Line, CDC, CNN, NPR
Photo: Gizmodo
Leading Women in Abu Dhabi
1. Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak
Also given the honorable title of “Mother of the Nation,” Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak is known as a “champion of women’s rights,” who has played a pioneering and leading role for women both locally and internationally. She is the third wife of the late founder and first president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan.
Sheikha Fatima started her work in the 1970s by launching a nation-wide campaign against illiteracy, with a particular emphasis on the need to educate girls, and establishing the first women’s society in the country, the Abu Dhabi Women Development Association. Since then, she has worked tirelessly by establishing over thirty associations, chairing tens of organizations, launching scores of initiatives and campaigns, and hosting and patronizing countless conferences and forums. She is currently the Supreme Chairperson of the Family Development Foundation, Chairperson of the UAE Women’s General Union, and Chairwoman of the Supreme Council for Motherhood & Childhood.
In recognition of her work on women’s issues, she was granted the Marie Curie Medal by UNESCO. She has also been awarded for her humanitarian and refugee work, for which she has been presented with a shield written in gold from the UN High Commission for Refugees, as well presented with the Global Humanitarian Personality Award, from the World Heart Group, for her efforts to help the sick.
2. Sheikha Fatema Bint Mohammed Bin Zayed
Following in her grandmother’s footsteps, Sheikha Fatema put her compassion into practice as a young university student. She is the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi (and the granddaughter of Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak).
In June 2010, while studying in university, she found herself deeply moved by the poverty still afflicting Afghanistan. She decided to take action and partnered with a local Afghan firm, Tanweer Investments, to create the Fatima bint Mohammed Initiative (FBMI). The organization is dedicated to addressing the 42% poverty rate in the country “by providing resources, compassion and the opportunity for impoverished women to free themselves from economic hardship and take a leading role in Afghanistan’s future.”
FBMI is unique because it embraced skills Afghan women already possessed, carpet weaving and spinning, and provided them with further vocational training and the resources they needed to become key industry players. Indigenous wool is used in order to enhance the value of the product and guarantee 100% Afghan origin. In addition to employing 3,000 low income Afghans (70% of whom are women), FBMI also offers the families healthcare and education services.
Since its inception, over 10,000 carpets have been produced and sold worldwide, providing sustainable economic development for more than 18,000 individuals. FBMI has received numerous awards in recognition of its achievements, including the DOMOTEX Middle East Special Recognition Award and Sustainable Interior Design Initiative of the Year in 2011.
– Rifk Ebeid
Sources: FBMI, The National, Arab Youth Awards, Alowaisnet
Africa Hopeful To Be Hunger-Free by 2025
On Friday, Jose Graziano da Silva, head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agency, stated that hunger in Africa can be eradicated by the year 2025. He then added that this can be achieved through the political commitment of all African political leaders and utilization of currently available resources. “We are not talking about sending a man to the moon or something that complicated”, he explained “We have the technology. We have the expertise. We have the things that we need to do it.”
Graziano believes that this goal can be achieved by examining worldwide efforts to alleviate poverty and reach the first United Nations Millennium Development Goal of reducing poverty by half by 2015. Based on these efforts, Graziano listed three factors that are vital in targeting world hunger.
The first requirement is political will and leadership by leaders of the countries as this effort requires improvement in various aspects including health, nutrition, water supply, etc.
Secondly, Graziano highlighted the importance of agricultural performance and access to food. Statistics show that the world has more than enough food produced to feed the hungry; however, this food isn’t easily accessible and is often wasted. Between one-third and one-half of food produced today is lost or wasted due to improper storage methods, poor transportation and unnecessarily large portions.
The third factor that Graziano cited was the poor nutritional value of much of the food provided to the hungry. He stated that, “you see in families with the lowest income a proportion of obese and malnourished (youngsters) similar to the families that have high level income.”
Graziano and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization hope to see all of the aforementioned factors addressed and innovative solutions invented at the African Union Summit in January of 2014.
– Lienna Feleke-Eshete
Sources: Huffington Post, Food and Agriculture Organization
Photo: Ebru News
India’s ‘Hackathon for Humanity’
A three-day conference designed to bring the interests of women in technology to the forefront of the tech world, the Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC) of Women in Computing is the only of its kind in India. The Conference is composed of keynote sessions, presentations on technology and professional development, a career fair, the Women Entrepreneur Quest, and Grace Hopper Celebration’s crowning glory – the Hackathon.
This year’s Hackathon, held last week in Bangalore, India, brought in around 120 women to code on open-source platforms for three humanitarian causes. In its fourth year of operation, the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing India was themed “Together We Rise,” to symbolize the collaboration of women from various sectors of the technology industry and their power to create a large network of technology-minded women.
The developers at this year’s Hackathon participated in projects in the fields of financial inclusion, mapping and health. Within the subject of financial inclusion, the women coded for Mifos, a free and open-source platform that enables financial service providers to more effectively deliver their services to the world’s poor. Mifos services microfinance institutions in managing funds, loans, installments, savings, deposits and other accounting reports. By coding at the Hackathon, the women helped to develop the platform and more efficiently manage Mifos’ data.
The second project built onto the framework of the Bachchao Project, an organization aimed at creating open technology tools to ensure user safety. The first of a larger set of technologies to keep women safe, the Bachchao app was first prototyped at the 2012 GHC Hackathon to transform mobile phones into personal security systems. This year, the women at the Hackathon helped to develop a custom crowdsourced map that alerts the user of safe and unsafe areas and displays local locations such as police stations, hotels and NGOs.
The final project worked on by GHC’s developers was a clinical reminder system that allows people to receive alerts about medications, medical tests, immunizations and examinations. This was designed to give people, especially women, greater control of and awareness about their own health.
In the shadow of the male-dominated technology industry, women are working against all odds to establish themselves as strong contenders in the growing field of IT.
– Tara Young
Sources: Mashable, Grace Hopper, The Hindu, The Bachchao Project
Teen Suicides Prompt Change in Rape Laws
A teenage girl in Morocco committed suicide last month after being forced to marry her rapist. Her death occurred amidst debate over a controversial article of Morocco’s Penal code which allows rapists to avoid a jail sentence if they marry their victim.
The article in question, Article 475, received global attention after a similar case in March 2012 in which Amina Filali, 16, drank rat poison after being forced to marry her rapist. At the time, activist Abadila Maaelaynine said on Twitter, “Amina, 16, was triply violated, by her rapist, by tradition and by Article 475 of the Moroccan law.”
In Moroccan society, a woman who loses her virginity – even by rape – is considered unfit to marry. “There’s a mentality that says that a girl that’s no longer a virgin is worthless,” said Khadija Riyadi, President of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights (AMDH). She went on to say that families feel like they cannot support an “unmarriagable” daughter and to make her marry her attacker seems like the only solution.
Opponents of Article 475 pressured U.S. president Barack Obama who met with Moroccan King Mohammed VI on Friday to urge the king to repeal the article.
A move to protect women from violence was submitted to the Moroccan parliament earlier this month, a year after the initial idea was proposed. Justice Minister Mustapha Ramid told Al Jazeera, “Until now, it’s still just a law project that’s being considered by parliament but hasn’t been rectified. We have not yet formally edited the article.”
“Delays in legal reform in Morocco are leaving women and girls exposed to abuse,” said Philip Luther, Middle East and North Africa Director at Amnesty International. “Unless the gap is closed between the authorities’ rhetoric about improvements to the law and their delivery of these changes, more lives will be at risk.”
– David Smith
Sources: Al Jazeera, The Telegraph, All Africa
How to Teach Kids to Give Back
1. Teach kids to be empathetic toward others in need. Children naturally want to help others, with a little guidance and encouragement it comes easily. For example, when a child at a playground sees another child fall down, their automatic instinct is to help. Foster this instinct and lead by example. When you’re walking into a store with a food drive bin, toss in a can of soup. Offer change to a homeless man on the street or water to a stray dog. These simple yet impactful acts of giving will instill empathy in children. Also, allow them to see you do this and they will have questions. This opens up conversations about giving at a very early age.
2. Take advantage of every opportunity to give back. There are always times when someone is in need of help. When you spot that need, fulfill it. The help could be as simple as holding a door open for an elderly woman or as big as volunteering at the food bank holiday drive. Moms and Dads are a child’s first and most important role model. Let your kids see that helping others is simple and an everyday occurrence.
3. Create a list of annual charity events the whole family can be involved in. There are many organizations that allow whole family involvement and help from smaller kids. In fact it’s encouraged. For instance, make it a point to give change every time your family sees those familiar bell ringers with their red kettles. Doing this each time will cause your little ones to become excited to give. Use those opportunities to start the dialog about who the money in the red kettles benefits and what a difference they are making. The Tree of Sharing is another great campaign held annually.
Children feel good knowing they are making another child’s Christmas gift wish come true. Trick or Treat for UNICEF is also a fun way for children to give back to others globally. For over 60 years UNICEF has joined little ghosts and ghouls on their journey for treats. Children simply say trick or treat for UNICEF and hold up a UNICEF print out box to hold donations. Participating in the various walks and runs for charity is a perfect way to give back in the warmer months, as well.
Make giving a part of your everyday life and it will become a part of your child’s as well.
– Amy Robinson
Sources: Giving Tuesday
Voss Foundation Brings Clean Water to Africa
At the Voss Foundation’s Women Helping Women luncheon, women enjoyed food, shopping, and good company. Most importantly, they also helped bring clean water to developing nations in Africa. By shopping at a well-curated African bazaar set up in the Dream Downtown hotel, luncheon guests contributed to the cause. The Voss Foundation, a Norwegian water company, works to bring access to clean water to regions in sub-Saharan Africa. At the luncheon, the Voss Foundation spearheaded a bazaar which sold an array of goods such as scarves, jewelry, and woven home goods. The merchandise was created by women whose communities had benefited from Women Helping Women’s work, which includes building wells and latrines and providing sanitation facilities.
According to reports, the event was a success. The event had a big impact on the fashion world as renowned female personalities such as designer Jill Stuart, author Susan Fales-Hill and beauty queen Nana Meriwether, attended the event; their presence alone “underscored an important reality about the water crisis”. In addition, the fact that the attendees were mostly female showed that the water crisis in Africa largely affects females. According to Kara Gerson, the foundation’s director, “women and girls who are responsible for clean water and so they spend hours carrying heavy loads of water on their backs and heads back to their families. There are obviously physical issues with carrying heavy loads of water long distances, there are safety issues when the women are alone and the water that they are carrying might not even be clean”. Model and actress Selita Eban who was honored by Women Helping Women in 2012 for her charity work in Sierra Leone, agrees with this notion.
– Stephanie Olaya
Sources: Voss Foundation, Wall Street Journal
Photo: Action Against Hunger
Tweets Assist Efforts in the Philippines
p What was learned from humanitarian efforts through the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004? Coordination is critical to effective relief efforts.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) does just that, brings together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to disasters. In this age of technology information, OCHA has been on the lookout for technological supports. Enter the Digital Humanitarian Network (DHN).
DHN is supporting OCHA and the Philippines Red Cross’s joint ongoing rapid needs assessments through geo-mapping. Geo-mapping combines crowdsourcing from micro-mapping with machine intelligence, to filter and categorize information, which is then pinpointed on virtual maps in real time.
How does this actually work? Through collecting tweets, images, and messages, real time data can be distributed to aid workers. With this up-to-date information, aid workers are informed on the needs, gaps, and accomplishments in their area of focus, allowing them to make better decisions as they move forward with their relief work.
OCHA activated DHN one day prior to the category five Typhoon Haiyan reaching the Philippines. Through the persistent work of thousands of digital humanitarian volunteers worldwide, including media monitors, translators, GIS specialists, statistical analysts, emotional support teams and standby task forces, thousands of tweets were collected and automatically filtered down to a manageable size. The filtering process is based on relevance and uniqueness of the information.
As there are more than 30 million social media users throughout the Philippines, the data collected was substantial. For instance, 230,000 tweets were collected during first 48 hours of landfall. Processing this large amount of data can take up to weeks. Through the work of thousands of volunteers worldwide were these tweets processed in a matter of hours.
The data collected is uploaded to web maps that are easily accessible to aid workers. One such map is the Open Street Map. The Open Street Map was updated through geo-mapping 300,000 times in the typhoon-affected areas in the Philippines during the first three days.
DHN relies on Internet availability to function. Thus, lack of Internet can affect the amount of data DHN is able to collect, consolidate, and distribute. However, DHN has contributed to the collaboration of aid workers during conflict, disasters, crisis, and displacement in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Samoa, Syria, and now the Philippines. The typhoon in the Philippines is the largest deployment DHN has responded to.
DHN is contributing to relief work by helping to fill the information gap during conflicts and disasters. Through the social media information gathered by DHN, aid workers can work collaboratively, ensuring the most efficient use of resources.
– Caressa Kruth
Sources: IRIN News, DH Network, UNOCHA, Devex, MicroMappers