There are serious humanitarian issues arising in Iraq. Being prepared to meet them is crucial.
The Humanitarian Information Center for Iraq, run by Reliefweb (part of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) ), is collecting data in order to assist agencies going into Iraq.
Coordination is a perennial issue for assistance agencies. Developing good tools to help that aspect of our work is an ongoing - and frustrating - process. Aid workers are a prickly bunch and don't take coordination across agency lines very well. Efforts such as the HIC, if successful, can go a long way toward breaking down the barriers that keep us from doing our work as effectively as we could.
So, if you have suggestions on how to improve the usefulness of the site, don't be shy, even if you aren't a humanitarian professional.
There" that fills my "officialese" rhetoric quotient for the next week.
Posted by Martial