Put the task before the tech

Humanitarian practitioners repeatedly express great interest in new technologies to gather information or communicate with affected populations. In contexts as diverse as Afghanistan and South Central Somalia, mobile phones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with cameras are promising: they can inform organisations about the needs of beneficiaries, the whereabouts of food trucks, whether vaccines have been administered and canals have been dug, and how many women, men, and children are staying in a shelter. Such knowledge crucially informs daily decision-making and keeps goals and efforts are in alignment.

This blog reflects on the uses and limitations of new technologies to monitor aid in insecure environments. It is part of the "Secure Access in Volatile Environments (SAVE)" research project.