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How technology can help disaster response

1 | Look to next generation technology
The international community spends around $25bn [£20bn] per annum to produce life-saving help to folks blasted by wars and natural disasters. in line with the global organization, this is often $15bn [£12bn] in need of what's desperately required. Next generation technology like artificial intelligence and AI will radically increase the potency (time savings) and productivity (cost savings) of humanitarian efforts.

2 | Encourage a ‘bottom-up’ approach
I firmly believe that technology are a key enabler in permitting North American country to create humanitarian response beneficiary-driven – a one hundred eighty degree modification from the highest down approach we have a tendency to presently have. it'll offer beneficiaries a voice and a tool to self-organise. the massive question is however long it'll take the humanitarian community to adapt to the present modified landscape.

3 | Share knowledge and collaborate with alternative organisations
Efficiency comes after we open up our knowledge, after we begin collaborating a lot of and after we place the beneficiary into the driver’s seat of providing North American country with knowledge. we have a tendency to should specialize in what factors area unit limiting our ability to reply in associate economical manner. we have a tendency to should improve collaboration. we have a tendency to should increase sharing of knowledge. Technology will facilitate North American country do this, however unless you would like to figure with others, and unless you would like to share info and tackle the political problems we have a tendency to face at intervals the humanitarian community – then technology isn't a cure to unravel the issues of humanitarian response.

4 | Take a rights-based approach
We should not lose sight of rights in our look for improved outcomes. simply because you're a humanitarian organisation, it doesn’t mean the information you collect won’t be wont to hurt folks. In fact, humanitarian organisations collect knowledge on a number of the foremost vulnerable populations within the world, underneath the foremost extreme threat models. At Benetech we have a tendency to encourage organisations to adopt end-to-end encoding where doable, and to adopt serious security protocols once operating with knowledge.

5 | make the most of technical school to speed-up response
Cash relief is one in all the foremost economical and effective sorts of humanitarian response, and by taking advantage of technology advances in electronic payments we will reach folks in want firmly, quicker and a lot of cheaply than several alternative sorts of aid.

6 | Don’t underestimate ‘simple’ innovations
The simple adoption of mobile knowledge assortment at intervals humanitarian response has been one in all the a lot of impactful developments I’ve watched unfold. There’s quite an ton of attention placed on to knowledge visual image and “big data” analytics – however the moment gratification of cutting a once day-long method of information entry into a second transfer shows that generally the only “innovations” will have the foremost impact.

7 | Technology is simply a part of the answer


We often place an excessive amount of specialize in the technology – specially on the bells and whistles of latest technology. in fact it's fun to own a shiny new toy and in fact, we have a tendency to all wish to be able to use the most recent buzzwords like huge knowledge, drone etc. Technology is solely a tool which will be wont to facilitate solve issues and increase potency. Like alternative tools, if incorrectly used, then they don’t increase potency and even produce a lot of issues than they solve.

Technology can solely ever facilitate in humanitarian response if we’re extremely clear concerning the character of the matter. i think drones will be a helpful a part of the toolkit for assessment of disasters if they're wont to complement existing assessment tools.

8 | Improve what's already accessible
A better downside analysis is usually required before the introduction of latest technologies. a lot of attention ought to be paid on however the humanitarian organisations might frequently assess the event and potential of technologies and perceive their impact on the ever-changing wants of affected populations.

9 | perceive the facility – and pitfalls – of social media
Social media will be a helpful supply of knowledge from communities wherever they're acquainted with this technology. it's conjointly an excellent approach for communities to carry aid agencies to account. In Iraq, for instance, several displaced folks are victimisation social media to unfold awareness of poor conditions in exile camps. However, there area unit numerous those that don't have access to such tools. we'd like to create certain that associate over-reliance on social media doesn’t exclude the foremost vulnerable.

In several of the countries that have emergencies, social media users tend to be comfortable, male and concrete. This creates an outsized bias within the social media traffic. an equivalent downside exists for alternative strategies of crowdsourcing info. Agencies ought to remember of this risk and limitation.


10 | Leave nobody behind
We have created major strides in increasing coverage of mobile technology specially, but there area unit still many folks United Nations agency area unit in danger of being left behind. however can we get successive two billion folks connected and online? The unconnected population is preponderantly placed in developing world markets, generally on low incomes and lacking basic and digital acquisition skills. ladies area unit disproportionately littered with these challenges. Innovation in walk infrastructure and property, digital acquisition, accessibility and affordability area unit key problems at the policy level, however equally necessary area unit the methods that response agencies/organisations have at the community level to confirm that nobody is left behind. Kyla Reid, head of disaster response and digital identity, GSMA Mobile for Development, London, UK

11 | confirm technology is permanently
To invoke the Kranzberg’s 1st law of technology: “Technology isn't good; neither is it bad; neither is it neutral.” technical school permanently efforts would possibly facilitate, however they could build things worse. there's nothing intrinsic concerning technical school that creates it perpetually useful or smart. we have a tendency to area unit chargeable for the “good” in technical school. which needs a framework, and code, that takes into consideration dignity, rights, and therefore the humanity of the communities we have a tendency to request to serve.

12 | technical school is merely pretty much as good because the organisations that use it
We need to reshape aid thus it's appropriate the twenty first century. this suggests being proactive in response to risks, collaborating across organisations, localising response and pondering all this from the attitude of these United Nations agency area unit littered with crises. technical school is merely one a part of that transformation and it'll be pretty much as good or as misguided because the establishments and mindsets that employ it


This post first appeared on Math Capsule, please read the originial post: here

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How technology can help disaster response

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