19 April 2013: The UN Institute for Training and Research’s (UNITAR) Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) have begun implementing a new disaster risk reduction (DRR) partnership project with an inaugural training course on DRR Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

The two-week course was hosted at the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) in Nairobi, Kenya, and forms part of a larger UNOSAT-IGAD partnership project on using geospatial technologies to improve DRR in East Africa.

The partnership project is designed to develop the capacity of the organization and its associated centers to use GIS and remote sensing to enhance planning, emergency preparedness and prevention across the region in order to reduce disaster risks for vulnerable communities in the region. The initiative, which is supported by the Government of Norway, is also testing UNOSAT’s new strategic approach GIS and Earth Observation for DRR (GEODRR).

IGAD is an eight-country regional development organization in East Africa, and focuses on drought, emergency response and disaster reduction. RCMRD is an intergovernmental organization of 18 member States in Eastern and Southern Africa that aims to provide quality geo-information and information and communications technology products and services in environmental and resource management for sustainable development. [UNITAR Press Release] [UNOSAT-IGAD Partnership Project Information] [UNOSAT Website] [IGAD Press Release]