Volunteer armies map 'invisible' communities hit by coronavirus

Volunteer armies map 'invisible' communities hit by coronavirus After the coronavirus outbreak hit Indonesia, charity worker Harry Machmud in May asked volunteers to map handwashing stations across the sprawling archipelago. Rina Chandran U.S.

BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - After the coronavirus outbreak hit Indonesia, charity worker Harry Machmud in May asked volunteers to map handwashing stations across the sprawling archipelago.

Hundreds of volunteers who otherwise mark roads and bridges on OpenStreetMap (OSM), a free and editable map of the world being built by communities using smartphones and drones, added more than 1,100 handwashing stations across the country.

Worldwide, the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT), which uses mapping to support humanitarian action, has been getting updated OSM data to government agencies and healthcare personnel trying to reach vulnerable populations during COVID-19.

“Incomplete or inaccurate maps can cut off entire communities from essential services and government assistance,” said Machmud, who heads (HOT) in Indonesia.

“OpenStreetMap lets the community update the map whenever they want to. It is based on their knowledge and their priorities, and they don’t have to wait for government permission or for anyone else to do it,” he said.

The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted many of the world’s inequalities, from quarantine facilities to access to technology.

It has also underlined the importance of maps, that remain inaccurate and incomplete in many parts of the world, leaving more than one billion people “invisible”, according to HOT, which aims to map these areas in 94 nations in five years’ time.

Gaps in mapping data - from roads to buildings - in marginalised places impede response efforts of governments and aid agencies during disasters and emergencies, said Paul Georgie, founder of Scottish geospatial technology firm Geo.Geo.  ...