MSF USA Virtual Mapathon

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) invites you to participate in a virtual Mapathon on Tuesday, November 19 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. ET. This event is part of Open Street Map’s Geography Awareness Week (aka OSM Geo Week), during which a global coalition of partners, community groups, and map lovers will join together to celebrate geography and contribute to MSF's humanitarian work! 

At this virtual mapping party, we will be mapping parts of the world's most remote locations to help MSF respond more effectively to humanitarian emergencies like disease outbreaks, war and conflict, and natural disasters. Both beginners and experienced mappers are welcome to join this Mapathon. We will be utilizing the OpenStreetMap Platform and the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team Tasking Manager. 

This year, we will be mapping the outskirts of Sokoto, Nigeria to support MSF in its activities to address noma, a chronically neglected disease mostly affecting children under five living in poverty. The aim is to reduce the need for surgical interventions by combatting the main cause of the disease–malnutrition.

Mapathon Agenda
6:00 PM - Presentation on MSF and the Missing Maps Project.
6:30 PM -  Introduction of mapping project for the evening, a presentation from an MSF staff member, and a step-by-step iD Editor mapping tutorial.
6:50 PM - All users are mapping! MSF provides individualized support throughout the rest of the event.

A special initiative founded by Doctors Without Borders, the American Red Cross, the British Red Cross, and the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, Missing Maps is powered by volunteers around the world. Using OpenStreetMap, an open, free, and crowd-sourced platform, volunteers map underserved regions in order to provide international and local NGOs and individuals with geographic data to better respond to crises.