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AID workers in Zimbabwe need all the help that they can get, so a website that enables them to share information could be a big boost. Although Zimbabwe鈥檚 cholera outbreak is finally showing signs of abating, the site could help relief groups as they attempt to rebuild the country鈥檚 shattered infrastructure.

Launched this month, will use collaborative wiki software to enable humanitarian workers and others to add health, welfare and education information to a version of Google Maps that can be viewed by anyone. The hope is that by circumventing official information channels, a clearer picture of what is happening on the ground can develop.

As went to press, a total of 89,649 cases of cholera and 4041 deaths had been reported in Zimbabwe since the outbreak began in August. But new cholera cases have fallen from around 8000 a week at the start of the year to 2151 in the first week of March. A central control centre was also recently set up in Harare with help from the Zimbabwean Ministry of 91色情片.

Nevertheless, collecting data is still proving difficult, says Paul Garwood of the World 91色情片 Organization. 鈥淎 crucial element for the control of cholera in Zimbabwe is the need to improve access to information, and the monitoring of new cases and suspected cases in the country,鈥� he says. 鈥淎ny system that improves data collecting and sharing would be beneficial.鈥�

鈥淎 crucial element for the control of cholera in Zimbabwe is improving access to information鈥�

That鈥檚 where WikiMapAid could help. Users can create markers to show the location of places such as schools, hospitals or refugee centres, and they can attach links to video or photos of that place, or post a report of the current situation in the area. Similar services, such as the website , have recently been developed to map disease outbreaks around the world.

At the moment, WikiMapAid is focusing on Zimbabwe, and as well as schools and suchlike, the tool lets you create other categories of marker to show not only the location of cholera outbreaks but also places like food and water distribution centres, says Rupert Douglas-Bate of , the organisation leading the project. Users can also create new marker categories to show, say, public buildings, or to mark disease outbreaks in other countries.

The website is based on a Brazilian project called , launched last year, in which members of the public share information about crime in their local area. It is designed to provide an alternative source of crime figures to official statistics, which some suspect of government manipulation, according to at the University of Fortaleza in Brazil, who developed the software for Wikicrimes and WikiMapAid. 鈥淲ikicrimes is a way of showing citizens that a particular area is a problem and to push the government to do something about it,鈥� he says.

Douglas-Bate hopes a similar approach in Zimbabwe could help ensure that aid is distributed correctly. 鈥淚f we鈥檝e all got the same situation report then we鈥檙e all singing from the same hymn sheet,鈥� he says. Also, if people feel they will attract attention from the authorities by posting information, they could perhaps get friends on the outside to post information for them, he says.

As with all wikis, the integrity of the data will depend on the people supplying it. Although moderators will edit and keep track of postings, Douglas-Bate admits unreliable reporting could be a problem. To lessen this risk, Furtado is developing an algorithm that will rate the reputation of users according to whether the information they post is corroborated, or contradicted. 鈥淏ut even if we鈥檙e just 80 per cent perfect, we will still have made a huge step forward in terms of being able to galvanise public opinion, raise funds, prioritise need and speed the aid on those who need it most,鈥� Douglas-Bate says.