Collaboration reduces conflict casualties

Conflict is at the core of many humanitarian disasters. Today, new collaborative and crowdsourcing approaches can provide the early warnings that will significantly reduce the number of casualties.

In Africa, the Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism (CEWARN) – a collaborative initiative from the IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) member states (which includes Djibouti, Sudan, and Kenya, among other countries) – aims to prevent violent conflicts in the sub-region by exchanging conflict early warning information about rising tensions.

Further north, in Syria, crowdsourcing is at the heart of a new service. Aymta, which means “when” in Arabic, provides civilians with early warning of incoming scuds missiles. As the internet is regularly cut off, the warnings come through a wide variety of channels – phone, SMS, e-mail, RSS feed, broadcasts on satellite television or radio frequencies – ensuring as many people as possible are warned and can get out of their homes before the missile hits.

Whether early warnings are preventing conflict or giving civilians the time to get to a safe place, collaboration and crowdsourcing are already playing a vital new role: reducing conflict casualties.