World Food Program teams up with WeRobotics to use drones in emergencies

The World Food Program (WFP) is officially partnering with WeRobotics to develop coordination mechanisms to guide the safe and effective use of aerial robotics (UAVs) in response to humanitarian disasters.

Assisting 80 million people in around 80 countries each year, the World Food Programme (WFP) is the leading humanitarian organization fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.

UAVs are increasingly recognised by humanitarian organizations for their potential effectiveness in disaster response. Such technology can help humanitarian organizations to quickly collect information, achieve higher data accuracy, and provide safer monitoring systems in emergencies. 

This year-long partnership between the WFP and WeRobotics will comprise 4 Experts Meetings coupled with Disaster Simulations in Peru, Dominican Republic, Indonesia and Myanmar. Key stakeholders, including participants from government, civil society and private sector from the host country will attend the meeting to develop practical coordination mechanisms. They will then test these mechanisms by applying them in disaster response simulations.