Updates

The World Food Programme (WFP) practical training was the first inter-state, South-South collaboration of its kind, pairing facilitators and participants from governmental disaster management offices of Mozambique (INGC) and Madagascar (BNGRC). ...

We are now looking on how to integrate satellite images with artificial intelligence and the aerial images taken from drones that are now used in every major emergency. These technologies are changing the way we think about innovation in the humanitarian world, opening up new exciting possibilities to plan and respond to emergencies across the planet. ...

WFP’s Aviation Service, Technology Division and Regional Bureaus – could they all have one goal in common? What about when we add the National Disaster Management Office and international organisation like European Commission into the mix? The answer is: Yes, they have mutual interest in using drones for emergency preparedness and response! ...

The World Food Programme (WFP), a leader in emergency response, is using and exploring the use of drones in its operations. Below are the 5 reasons why. ...

UAVs won’t replace conventional humanitarian vehicles like 4x4s and planes. But they could bolster responses, adding an extra, complementary tool for humanitarians to use. They can be pre-positioned in disaster-prone regions, they don’t require extensive infrastructure (like runways) to operate, and they can circumvent poor infrastructure. ...

After several decades of using trucks, donkeys, manned aircraft, barges, ships etc. to establish unparalleled leadership in humanitarian logistics, WFP is on the edge of breaking new ground. In the new era of ‘drones’, more conventionally known as Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS), WFP is taking bold steps to add unmanned aircraft to its traditional array of cargo delivery tools. ...

Angel Buitrago is an IT officer in the World Food Programme (WFP)’s regional bureau in Panama. Here he provides a first-hand account of his use of UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), or drones, during an emergency — and discusses the huge potential for this fast-evolving technology in tackling and preventing humanitarian catastrophes. ...