Speaker Bio & Abstract
iMMAP Afghanistan
BiographyAndrea Porro has worked as a consultant to iMMAP since 2014. His first assignment was in Afghanistan, starting as an Information Manager for the Common Operating Picture for Humanitarian Coordination (COP) for which his main tasks included the support to Humanitarian Clusters and Implementing Partners with timely and reliable IM products. In 2017 Dr Porro became iMMAP Country Representative. Leading both Humanitarian information Management support to UN, NGOs and civil society and DRR program for Afghan Line Ministry.AbstractAfghanistan Spatial Data Center (ASDC) - a tool to support Disaster Response and Humanitarian OperationsAfghanistan is one of the most vulnerable countries to natural hazards in the world - every year people are affected by floods, droughts, earthquakes, landslides, and avalanches. Afghanistan is a country with sparse and often inaccurate data. This hinders the ability of the humanitarian community and Government to make informed decisions related to planning emergency response operations.
The goal of the Afghanistan Spatial Data Center (ASDC - http://asdc.immap.org) - an interactive web-based geospatial platform developed by iMMAP as part of the USAID funded Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Program - is to provide the best currently available DRR data, and other baseline information, to the humanitarian community in Afghanistan, as well as strengthen the geospatial capacity of the Afghan Natural Disaster Management Authorities (ANDMA). The ASDC monitors weather, climate, and natural hazards, and provides information on populations/infrastructure at risk, humanitarian access, security incidents, GSM coverage and travel time/distance to hospitals, airports, and POI.
The ASDC is the most advanced geoportal on Afghanistan, containing comprehensive and accurate data, and providing information to humanitarian organizations and government bodies for DRR, operational planning, emergency response, and M&E - ultimately helping to save lives and reducing suffering. In 2020 AS20 will be handed over to ANDMA.