MapAction

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About the charity

When disaster strikes, the first crucial need is for…information. Where are the affected people? What are the highest priorities for rescue and relief? How can response agencies reach survivors? Who has already delivered aid, and where?

MapAction is a small charity with a big role – to collect and distribute vital mapped information in the field, within hours of a catastrophic disaster, that enables international relief teams to target life-saving aid where it’s most needed.

Using specially trained volunteers who have become experts in responding to humanitarian emergencies, MapAction teams respond to major disasters like the Haiti earthquake, as well as emergencies that don’t hit the international news headlines.

MapAction’s service boosts the efficiency of the overall aid effort, by ensuring that relief help is focused on the areas of greatest need. The use of experts working as unpaid volunteers keeps costs low, but funds are needed continually to train, equip and manage the team. MapAction doesn’t receive funds from the major public disaster appeals, so we depend on donors who ‘get’ why our service is so vital – because aid in the wrong place is no help at all.