Disaster response mobile app is finalist in digital awards

The Humanitarian Hands On Tool (HHOT), CBM’s mobile app to help aid workers include people with disabilities in disaster response, is a finalist in this year’s Drum Awards for the Digital Industries in the Not-for-profit/charity website, app or campaign category.

HHOT, created by Cambridge-based digital agency Studio 24 (open link in new tab), provides practical, step-by-step guidance that emergency workers can access freely and easily, to ensure that the help they provide (such as emergency shelters or food & water points) are accessible to people with disabilities.

The first field testing was in Bangladesh in May this year as part of the response to the Rohingya refugee crisis.

When disasters strike, people with disabilities are often among the worst affected and the last to receive help. They may miss out on warnings or information because they can’t see, hear or understand them. They may be unable to escape quickly from danger. And vital emergency aid like shelters or food distribution may be too far away, or difficult to access for a person with a disability. Studio 24 (open link in new tab)

The Drum DADI Awards (open link in new tab) have been recognising and rewarding the very best in digital for the past 12 years. They have grown year on year to become one of the biggest and most prestigious awards in the global digital events calendar. For more information visit. The winners will be announced on 10 October.

Read more about the HHOT tool (open link in new tab).

Image: Rajesh, 27, and his mother outside the shelter where they lived after their home was severely damaged in the earthquake of April 2015, built by CBM’s partner in Nepal. Rajesh has a physical disability and uses crutches to get around.