Humanitarian Crisis Map for the Central African Republic

The Association of Journalists for Human Rights in Central African Republic (RJDH-RCA) is a local organisation founded in December 2010 following a journalism training organised by Internews. Using mobile phones and internet connections, RJDH links a network of 17 community radio stations and 18 local community correspondents in areas with no radio coverage to facilitate the exchange of news and information with one another and with humanitarian agencies. The Humanitarian Crisis Map builds on this existing network.
 

According to RJDH-RCA the project puts local media organisations at the centre of innovation, enabling them to gather real-time first-hand information and create two-way communication flows that improve emergency response, enhance community participation, and build community resilience. A low bandwidth version of the Crisis Map is available for users trying to access it in areas with limited internet connectivity. Information on the map can also be sorted and viewed according to the particular interests of users; for example, it is possible to visualise only urgent reports, reports that need an action, or reports where action has been taken.

Conflict, Technology

According to Internews, since its independence from France in 1960, CAR has been plagued by crises associated with poor governance and conflict. Despite decades of humanitarian assistance, CAR remains fragile, with ongoing violence threatening the resilience of an already weak population. CAR presents the humanitarian community with a range of complex and protracted emergencies, where access to information and communication with affected communities is vital, but currently, as in many humanitarian interventions, largely under-resourced.