Asia-Pacific E-Resilience Toolkit Tool
Sahana Disaster Management Software
Sahana is a free, open-source codebase which provides a flexible, modular platform for rapidly deploying information management systems for disaster management and humanitarian use.
Features of the Sahana EDEN software include over 20 modules which can support all phases of the emergency cycle:
- Organisation directory
- Human resources management
- Projects database
- Alerting and incidents planning
- Information on shelters
- Health facilities and disease tracking & patient tracking
- Assets, warehousing and requests management (logistics)
- Demographics, risks, outreach and assessments tools
- Collaboration tools including mapping, messaging and documents handling
Sahana” means “relief” in Sinhalese, a language of Sri Lanka, where the first "Sahana" product was developed. It was developed in the immediate aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami by the Lanka Software Foundation (LSF). In early 2009, at the request of the LSF, the software project spun off to become it's own US-based non-profit organization with a mission to develop open source software for humanitarian purposes. Since then, the SSF has developed a number of open source software products and implemented solutions used by some of the world's largest relief organizations, as well as a myriad of emergency services agencies in uniquely vulnerable nations such as the Philippines, Nepal and Bangladesh.
The Sahana Software Foundation structure includes a Board of Directors, Foundation Members, Executive Committees and Project Management Committees who coordinate the voluntary efforts of its global community of contributors. The community has over 200 members, with volunteers from all over the world. The diverse team of contributors come from industry, academia, non-governmental humanitarian relief organizations and government agencies.
The Sahana EDEN software modular approach as well as the Sahana Foundation organisational structure are examples of how effective and well planned ICT applications and efforts can thrive and continue to serve humanity for over 12 years. This tool/best practice improves preparedness and response efforts greatly by providing a 1 stop solution for crisis management. The data collected and the knowledge gained from Disaster events can be used to reduce risk and in prevention efforts.
As part of the foundations on going efforts to reduce risk, it does field work such as working with communities and people where a low-literacy level increases their risk during disasters because they are unable to understand meteorological services text bulletins. They strive to understanding how pictographs maybe be more effective in these types of communities as disaster warnings.
