Workshop

Spread The Word
Humanitarian Information in the Asia-Pacific
Bangkok 28-29 November 2003

• Overview

• Programme

• Practical Info

Humanitarian Information Network 
Quarterly E-Newsletter 
Issue #3 - Jul 2003

Guest Editorial - Kevin Kennedy, Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq

Information management has assumed an increasingly important position in humanitarian response. As the articles below highlight, there is a wide range of services and products being offered to assist aid workers and managers. In Iraq, the early deployment of staff to develop Humanitarian Information Centres, and the valuable data and maps made available greatly aided our efforts to coordinate an effective humanitarian response. The FEWS NET project has very successfully proven its value in disseminating early warning and vulnerability data, providing key decision makers with critical advance notice of impending food security problems.[ more ]

Features:

Preparing for information management in Iraq

As the potential for a major crisis in Iraq intensified towards the end of 2002, the need to create access to timely and accurate information for effective relief efforts became imperative.  [ more ] 

Fews net: Consensus on assessments in Southern Africa speed response to "complex drought"

When a regional drought threatened food security in Southern Africa in 2002, many elements of a regional food security information system were already in place. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), www.fews.net together with key network partners--SADC's Regional Vulnerability Assessment Committee www.sadc-fanr.org .zw the World Food Programme (WFP) www.wfp.org and Save the Children-UK www.savethechildren.org.uk -- developed mechanisms to undertake ongoing emergency food security assessments, according to an agreed common format, consistent across all countries of the region.     [ more ]

Virtual operations coordination centre

On 21 May 2003 at 19:45 local time, a major earthquake hit the densely-populated coast of Algeria. Within hours of the initial quake, a site was set up via the UN Virtual Operations Coordination Center (Virtual OSOCC) at www.reliefweb.int/VirtualOSOCC. Some 3.5 hours after the first impact, Search and Rescue teams from around the world were actively posting messages, mobilising and coordinating their response. In their preparations, the teams from China, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, and others were able to access maps and background information on Algeria which had been transferred from ReliefWeb using a numeric identification system. Lists of materials, equipment and supplies needed were made available directly from the field, following initial assessments by the Government of Algeria and the UN Disaster Assessment Coordination (UNDAC).   [ more ]

Aid workers network: a person-to-person information resource

How many times have you reinvented the wheel?” queries the opening page of the Aid Workers Network, www.aidworkers.net . With a rapidly expanding membership of 2,455 individual members in 129 countries, the website is a resource and meeting ground for any and all people engaged in relief and development work. It was set up just under a year ago and is designed to help people find answers to the myriad practical questions that bedevil aid workers in the field through an ongoing, open-ended, unedited dialogue.   [ more ]

News Briefs:

Oxfam publication on information management

The cover of the new 2nd edition of Oxfam's “Information Management for Development Organisations” depicts the ultimate information technology: a nerve cell. The analogy of the human nervous system as a highly organised, flexible, specialised information management system, without which the organism could not begin to function, serves well to illustrate the critical importance of information management to the effective functioning of an organisation.

Good information flow between and within organisations allows people to make evidence-based choices, decisions based not on mere anecdotal recollections, but on information systematically collected, organised and tested over time. The book covers recent developments in knowledge management, capacity building, institutional learning, evaluation and impact assessment, research, information products, and evidence-based work. The reader is given practical and strategic options to improve the use of information in an organisation. 

Information Management for Development Organisations, by Mike Powell, Oxfam Development Guidelines series www.oxfam.org.uk/publications

Local preparedness in the health sector in Latin America

Typically, it is the initial response from within the affected community together with local authorities in the immediate aftermath of a disaster that saves the most lives. Advance preparation at the local level involving civil society and local institutions in various relevant sectors such as education, food, transportation or health, can therefore be one of the most effective ways to strengthen the effectiveness of disaster response.

The Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) has produced a Guide for the Local Level on Health Preparations for Disasters. The Guide provides practical recommendations for local health sectors that can be adapted to the particular needs of a country, region or locality. Available only in Spanish, the Guide can be downloaded from www.paho.org/disasters , or can be requested from disaster-publications@paho.org

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