Blog

Remote mapping meets local knowledge in Kulob, Tajikistan
Maria Longley
03 February 2026

Remote mapping and local knowledge came together in Kulob, Tajikistan, to fill critical gaps in neighbourhood-level map data for a tuberculosis project. Through remote sessions and hand-drawn maps, MSF teams in Kulob helped turn local knowledge into neighbourhood boundaries that had never been mapped before. The result is a map that supports tuberculosis screening and analysis and will continue to be useful for health teams working in the city.

Missing Maps 2023 annual report & highlights from Cameroon
Jorieke Vyncke and Jana Bauerová
27 February 2024

The State of the Map Africa 2023 provided a space for a hybrid Missing Maps annual meeting on the edges of the conference in Yaoundé, as well as the first-ever Missing Maps annual report with highlights, successes and challenges.

Participatory Mapping taken one step further - The new version of the Sketch Map Tool
Melanie Eckle and Alec Schulze-Eckle
14 July 2023

The Heidelberg Institute for Geoinformation Technology team recently launched a new version of the Skecth Map Tool - an easy-to-use tool for participatory sketch mapping through offline data collection, digitization and georeferencing of local spatial knowledge.

Geodata guiding health interventions in IDP camps around Goma
Jana Bauerová
19 June 2023

Amidst the ongoing conflict and displacement crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, utilizing geodata contributes to an effective evaluation of the situation, understanding the extent of displacement in a setting where estimating the number and spread of population is never an easy task.

Remote Mapping in Malawi: Supporting Field Operations
Jana Bauerová, Sophie Gélinas-Gagné and Alexis Huart
02 June 2023

Malawi was experiencing the worst cholera epidemic in 20 years, so MSF sent an emergency team and activated Missing Maps. When a cyclone hit in March, OSM data was also invaluable for assessment.

Women validators share perspectives
Jana Bauerová
08 March 2023

For the International Women's Day 2023, three women validators from different countries shared their unique perspectives

Utilisation des données OSM pour cartographier les hotspots de risque de pollution atmosphérique à Martissant, Port-au-Prince, en réponse à l'augmentation des cas d'asthme
Laurie Boobier
28 November 2022

MSF a utilisé des informations géographiques pour cartographier les risques de pollution de l’air avec l'aide des bénévoles de Missing Maps qui ont mis à jour de précieuses sources de données routières et de bâtiments OpenStreetMap (OSM).

Using OSM data to map Air Pollution Risk hotspots in Martissant, Port-au-Prince in response to rising Asthma cases
Laurie Boobier
28 November 2022

MSF used geographical information to map air pollution risk with help from Missing Maps volunteers who updated valuable OpenStreetMap (OSM) road and building data sources.

Mapping landcover with OSM Cameroon
Yves Emmanuel Nikoyo Emougou, Jorieke Vyncke, Lale Pirlot
14 October 2022

In order to improve Cameroon’s landcover and landuse mapping, OSM Cameroon strived to collect better data and enrich the OSM map that shows landcover patterns across the country.