Each year, disasters around the world devastate millions of people. But many communities are missing from the maps that responders use to deliver lifesaving aid.
To help get relief into people’s hands, the American Red Cross and partner organizations have launched the Missing Maps project. Using OpenStreetMap, volunteers have put millions of people from high-risk countries on the map since 2014.
This makes a lifesaving difference for disaster workers combating deadly health crises like the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. And when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake ravaged parts of Nepal in 2015, volunteers worldwide sprang into action to map affected communities and roads to support relief efforts on the ground.
But much work still lies ahead to put more families in the world’s most vulnerable communities on the map—before disaster strikes.
