Getting Help in an Emergency

Getting to hospital in a medical emergency, in countries without a centralised ambulance service, can be critically slow. In rapidly urbanising Kenya, Vivienne Nunis meets Caitlin Dolkart – cofounder of Flare; a company which created a technology platform to dispatch ambulances anywhere across the country. But how do you direct an ambulance without accurate maps? We hear from Humanitarian Open Street Map’s Ivan Gayton how open source data is improving heathcare outcomes. Image: Ambulance operator Paul Ochieng disinfects a stretcher at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, on April 17, 2020. Credit: Getty