More data is being collected and shared by humanitarian actors and partners than at any other time. In Nigeria today, data helps respond to a food security crisis affecting millions of households. The challenge is to get an accurate big picture: making sure data is accessible, shared and analyzed to inform life-saving decisions.
Using data must become a core competence of all humanitarians in the 21st century. This involves increasing capacity to interact with data from the point of collection to using it to inform a decision and get feedback from beneficiaries and communities. Corresponding with the launch of the Centre for Humanitarian Data in the Hague, this three-part Virtual Reality experience explores data cycles, harvest, analysis and use in the context of the humanitarian action.
Nigeria is the most populous and connected country in Africa. Yet, with the continent’s largest mobile market, the North-East region remains isolated. In the past four years, insurgencies by Boko Haram have exacerbated problems in the Borno State. 5.8 million people face extreme malnutrition, food deficit and massive displacement of population. The lack of infrastructure and connectivity of affected regions make it difficult to reach and meet people based on their needs. To respond to the crisis, humanitarian workers use a vast array of data – GPS location, open data kits, market price trends and satellite imagery – to get a bigger picture. From data collection, to dot connection to community feedback, data is a crucial tool to inform critical humanitarian response.