The Red Cross is digitising its processes to enhance its humanitarian efforts in Uganda.
The Uganda Red Cross Society's (URCS) programme has been so successful that the aid agency plans to replicate it in South Sudan, Sudan, and Zambia.
URCS is equipping its workers with digital tools, and its branches can now act on real-time information, resulting in speedier responses, increased accountability, and community-driven humanitarian programming.
It has 51 offices nationally.
"With this new digital mechanism, we can now receive and respond to community feedback more easily, closing the feedback loop in a way that better meets our community members’ needs,” said Frances Amulen, URCS chief engagement and accountability officer in Kampala.
The process relies heavily on a digital form called Kobo Toolbox. It collects all feedback in one place, ensuring that it is processed consistently.
The form links to open-source data management system, EspoCRM, visualising community feedback data in real time.
This suite of digital tools supports multiple languages and offline data collection. It is able to integrate feedback through toll-free lines, making it accessible in low-connectivity areas.
This enables URCS teams to more effectively engage with affected populations and promote data-driven decision-making.
“By making it easy to track how feedback is received, addressed and resolved, this mechanism provides us with an informative base to guide decision making and uphold the voices of the people we serve,” explained Enock Bukenya, URCS information technology officer.
The European Union and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are funding the initiative.
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