RAHMAWATI HUSEIN
Rahmawati Husein is the Deputy Chairperson of the Muhammadiyah Disaster Management Centre (MDMC) in Indonesia, which is a disaster management and humanitarian-focused organisation that stems from one of Indonesia’s largest Muslim organisations – Muhammadiyah. The AHA Centre spoke to Ms Husein about the organisation’s beginnings, and her own views on the state of disaster management in the ASEAN region.
Ms Husein has been with the MDMC since its initial foundation, which came about after she was sent to Aceh by Muhammadiyah to support the distribution and monitoring of relief items after the earthquake and tsunami in 2004. Ms Husein remained involved with the recovery efforts in Aceh, and then as other natural disasters continued to occur – such as the earthquakes in Yogyakarta and Sumatera – members of Muhammadiyah were increasingly engaged in response and relief efforts. Finally, in 2010, the MDMC was formally established, allowing the members to increase capability and opportunity to support disaster efforts across Indonesia. Rahmawati Husein was designated as the Deputy Chairperson at that time, and has maintained the role for the best part of a decade.
Over the years the MDMC has expanded its presence and engagement, and has even taken on roles responding to disasters across the ASEAN region. “The MDMC deployed a team to the Philippines in response to the Typhoon Haiyan in 2013” Ms Husein explains. “Also, we were engaged in the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Myanmar during 2016-2017, together with other organisations from Indonesia.” She highlights the appreciation and welcoming approach by local governments towards the MDMC in these situations, and believes that this allowed her team to evidence their role within regional disaster and humanitarian action.
Moving on to what she has experienced from a regional disaster management perspective, Ms Husein highlights the strong and improved coordination amongst ASEAN Member States. “At times of disaster we always work together” she states. She also recognises the role and value of the AHA Centre, and highlights the organisation’s critical position coordinating relief items and activities in responding to disaster. According to Ms Husein, this value was increasingly visible during the Central Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami response in 2018.
It is a lifelong passion for humanitarian activity that drives Ms Husein, and even led her to complete her PhD in Disaster Management. She continues to remain engaged with the MDMC and the region in disaster management activities.
“Due to the region being prone to natural disaster, engaging in humanitarian action remains significantly important”.
-Rahmawati Husein
Written by : Moch Syifa and William Shea | Photo : AHA Centre
UNITED NATIONS
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL MEETING (ECOSOC)
On June 10, 2020, the AHA Centre’s Executive Director Ms. Adelina Kamal was engaged as a key panellist on the United Nations Economic and Social Council Meeting (ECOSOC) discussion on Improving humanitarian effectiveness through new technology and innovation: opportunities and challenges. The discussion was on the third day of the ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs Segment 2020, within which the panel discussed concrete examples of the humanitarian sector improving humanitarian effectiveness in a changing landscape through use of new technology and innovation.
The online panel was chaired by H.E. Mr. Omar Hilale, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco and Vice-President of ECOSOC, and moderated by Mr. Ramesh Rajasingham, Acting Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator. Alongside Ms. Kamal from the AHA Centre, other panellists included: Mr. Fabrizio Hochschild, Under-Secretary-General for Digital Cooperation; Ms. Valerie Guarnieri, Assistant Executive Director, United Nations World Food Programme; Mr. Balthasar Staehelin, Director of Digital Transformation and Data, International Committee of the Red Cross; Dr. Patrick Meier, CEO, WeRobotics, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; Mr. Raj Kumar, Founding President & Editor-in-Chief of Devex, and; Mr. Christopher Fabian, Senior Advisor on Innovation, UNICEF. Throughout the session all panellists showcased examples of new technology and innovation being used in humanitarian preparedness and response to improve the impact of humanitarian operations, as well as share best practices and lessons learned.
Alongside this, the panel also approached how the humanitarian sector is positioning itself to work with partners – including regional, national, and local actors, as well as the private sector – to identify and roll-out further opportunities. Speakers also identified numerous risks and challenges associated with new and emerging technologies, and discussed how these can be mitigated in the future. Challenges included data protection and protection against privacy breaches, the potential curtailment of personal liberties through the misuse of data, the spread of misinformation and disinformation, and the use of technology to stigmatize or incite tensions.
This engagement gave the AHA Centre yet another opportunity to lead the region on disaster management coordination with an array of international bodies, while also be actively involved in the continuing expansion of information and communication technology activities taking place within the global disaster management sector. The change, the innovation, and the importance of this subject was highlighted by H.E. Mr. Omar Hilale when he stated during his opening speech that:
“When I began my career in humanitarian affairs, it was mostly a process of contingency planning involving a small group of disaster managers and aid workers meeting and gathering around a flipchart with a handful of coloured marker pens. Today, humanitarians use Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, and predictive analytics to more quickly and efficiently analyse and make decisions about how to respond to crisis.”
Written by : William Shea | Photo : AHA Centre
THE AHA CENTRE
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT NETWORK
Data and information form the base of key decision making that enables effective and efficient disaster management, and facilitates appropriate and timely emergency response. In order to ensure a well-informed and prompt decision-making process, such data and information have to be available, of high quality, and accessible across the entire emergency management cycle. The AHA Centre Information Management Network (AIM-Net) aims to recommend potential solution to address issues of data and information availability, quality, and accessibility to aid in disaster management and emergency response, and ensure the interoperability of information systems between the National Disaster Management Organisations (NDMOs) of the ASEAN Member States and the AHA Centre.
AIM-Net is a regional forum that facilitates ASEAN Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) practitioners to coordinate and cooperate in strengthening EOC capacities, capabilities and practices. AIM-Net’s formation was a result of recommendations from the ASEAN-ERAT Advisory Group and the ICT Task Force, after being presented to both the ACDM Working Groups on Risk Assessment (WG-RAA) and on Knowledge and Innovation Management (WG-KIM).
AIM-Net was established based on the requests from NDMOs, who wanted to develop a regional framework to support EOCs integrating big data and artificial intelligence into their work. It was also required to promote the development of regional data sharing and data management agreements, and to establish a technical platform to collectively address regional disaster information issues and concerns. This initiative was supported and approved during the 11th Meeting of the Governing Board of the AHA Centre in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, in October 2019.
AIM-Net stands as the key first step towards strengthening ASEAN Member States’ Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs), and will consist of the following components:
AIM-Net functions as a platform to develop and implement regional disaster Information management strategy, access information management information system interoperability needs, and develop and reach consensus on information management and information system interoperability taxonomy, specification, standards, and protocols. Its membership and structure includes a focal person from each NDMO, and also ASEAN-ERAT Information Management Specialists. The Chairperson role will rotate among NDMOs (first co-chairs will be nominated during the 1st AIM-Net Meeting), and the AHA Centre Disaster Monitoring and Analysis unit shall work as its secretariat.
Written by : Ina Rachmawati | Photo : AHA Centre
ALTERNATIVE DATA
FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT AND LESSONS FROM COVID-19 RESPONSE
During June 2020 an online discussion with over 60 participants from government to the private sector, academia, media and other development partners, was convened to explore alternative data for disaster management, with a focus on Indonesia’s COVID-19 response. The discussion was implemented by Saraswati – a private Indonesian firm focused on innovations in the development sector – in collaboration with SIAP SIAGA, a disaster risk management programme funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Some interesting and innovative examples of alternative data were raised as examples during the discussion – examples which could potentially be replicated and/or expanded for current or future disaster management contexts. Indonesian firm Iykra – for example –established a data network using data from Google and Flight Radar to provide analysis on mobility and early potential rates of infection. Google mobility data allowed them to develop data visualisations as an alternative source on community movement before and after large-scale social movement restrictions were implemented by the Indonesian government.
In another example, Pulse Lab Jakarta (PLJ) explored mobility patterns using data based on agreements negotiated with telecommunications providers. Such mapping was undertaken during and after natural disasters – for example following the 2018 Central Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia – to support insights on disaster response for multiple parties. PLJ has undertaken such work again to support the Indonesian government during this pandemic, particularly by visualising COVID-19 data from each Indonesian province for easier analysis and response.
Examples and innovations such as these form a large part of the AHA Centre’s ICT Roadmap, as well as the organisation’s overall push for increasing information and communication technology advances at the front and centre of ASEAN disaster management. While there is still much to be determined, even the small portion of ICT currently being utilised by disaster managers is having a significant impact. Alternative data not only provides new and unique insights, but also supports governments and other disaster management stakeholders to overcome data management challenges – particularly in relation to speed and infrastructure access required to gather traditional data within emergency situations. With proper understanding and utilisation, alternative data could form an integral part of disaster management processes, and support the development of policies, processes and activities through all parts of the disaster management cycle.
Written by : William Shea | Source : Saraswati Development Innovation