The Horn of Africa: Open Data Mapping Project - Building Resilience by Sharing data to Rebuild the Region
Member States of the Regional Center for Mapping Resources for Development
Context and Objectives
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has long promoted regional cooperation towards reducing the impact of national disasters, most recently through the IGAD Regional Platform for Drought Resilience. The development objective of the Horn of Africa Open Data Mapping Project was to strengthen climate and disaster risk management in the Horn of Africa by providing access to disaster information and training to utilize these data.
The Regional Center for Mapping and Resources for Development (RCMRD) is already providing a number of technical support services to IGAD, and their role in this project has been discussed with both parties.
Main Activities and results
The project increased the capacity of the regional mapping agency, provided a regional training workshop to increase the capacity of technical staff of national mapping and disaster management agencies, and supported a Random Hacks of Kindness Event in order to spur innovation in the use of this data.
The project’s main goal of providing regional and national stakeholders with additional data and information tools for improving decision-making for DRR and CCA in a traditionally data-deficient environment was successfully accomplished, and the tools have been embraced by the beneficiaries.
Based on the success of the project and building on the platform that was developed, the team has been approached by USAID for a potential new program of $10M to support better data access in the Horn and Sahel through an Open Data for Resilience Initiative project.
Partnerships and Coordination
The project was implemented in support of the international partnership to build resilience to flood and drought in the Horn of Africa. The grant was executed by the World Bank and implemented through its Africa Disaster Risk Management team with support from GFDRR Labs.
Coordination with the EU focal point for the region ensured alignment with the EU’s aim to build regional cooperation in the Horn and overall strategy for disaster risk reduction through better assessment of risk.
Key counterparts included RCMRD, IGAD, and the Kenya Red Cross. A number of regional and international stakeholders participated in early phases of the project. National stakeholders were involved through consultation meetings at the launch of the project in September 2012 and were continuously engaged with during the project.