Winners of the Pacific Humanitarian Challenge
Today we announce the winners of our Pacific Humanitarian Challenge.
Australia is a leader in disaster response in the Pacific. The recent devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Winston in Fiji highlighted the need to embrace new technologies and ideas to improve humanitarian action.
The $2 million Challenge was launched last year to encourage entrepreneurs, businesses, universities and NGOs to identify innovative ideas for how Australia can better assist Pacific communities prepare for and recover from natural disasters. The winners are:
- BIMA Leapfrog – Working with mobile phone provider Digicel to deliver low-cost insurance for up to 160,000 families. This will assist small businesses and families quickly recover after a disaster.
- Firetail – A low cost Australian designed and built unmanned aerial system to help responders gather data to provide targeted emergency relief.
- Humanitarian Open Street Map - Assisting humanitarian responders get access to real time information on the needs of communities affected after a disaster.
- Australian Red Cross – Developing standby arrangements with local Pacific businesses to rapidly deliver relief and assist communities to recover.
- Flinders University and New Zealand Red Cross – Using smartphones to provide emergency communications to remote communities when normal telecommunications fail.
The winning ideas have the potential to make a positive difference to humanitarian action in the Pacific.
The Government will work with the teams as their innovations are piloted in the region over the next year.