Current COVID 19 related activities of the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT), Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Center and HeiGIT are featured in a blog series around Forecast-based Financing.
The blog post, “Anticipating and addressing epidemics – the potential of open data initiatives“, provides an overview on how Missing Maps, Forecast-based Financing, HOT, Climate Center and HeiGIT efforts complement each other and how the established collaboration can help to better assess and limit the impacts of disasters and epidemics.
Our research group already supports the Missing Maps initiative since 2015. Among other things, the membership enabled us to learn about the requirements and challenges of the Red Cross organizations, MSF and other partners. Over the last couple of years, GIScience/HeiGIT furthermore strengthened and formalized the collaboration with German Red Cross, which recently also joined Missing Maps. Missing Maps in general focuses on preparatory mapping and on “putting the world´s vulnerable people on the OpenStreetMap”. Therefore, Missing Maps and the related work is also of outmost importance for the Red Cross organizations and their Forecast-based Financing program.
The Forecast-based Financing (FbF) programme was launched to allow for access to humanitarian funding already in the preparedness phase of the disaster cycle. The funding is used to generate in-depth forecast information and risk analysis and to resepctively plan early actions. Through this preparedness activities, disasters and their impact can be better anticipated and effects can be reduced.
We are looking forward to further explore the link of FbF, OSM mapping efforts and related services and how to make use of joint efforts to enable support in the response to epidemics and beyond.