In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic - the largest public health crisis of the 21st century so far - there was uncertainty about how mapping could be used to support response efforts. It quickly became clear that the 1 billion people living in completely or partially unmapped communities risked being left out of life-saving programs and access to healthcare and other forms of support. By the end of March 2020, the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) put a plan in place to focus on three key areas:

• Helping government agencies and responders to identify where unmapped vulnerable populations were located to plan for cash-based interventions;
• Identifying where at-risk populations of the most vulnerable people live, including the 60+ population and those with pre-existing conditions such as HIV/AIDS) as well as missing data on health infrastructure such as facilities, testing sites, pharmacies and laboratories, and resource distribution centers;
• Funding local mapping groups via Rapid Response Emergency Microgrants in places most at risk.

Supported by the Humanitarian-to-Humanitarian Network (H2H), HOT coordinated the most extensive disaster activation in its history. Over the course of 2020, the response grew into a network of teams, online volunteers, national governments, and local communities supporting mapping responses around the world. HOT’s role in this response covered a wide range of activities, including managing remote mapping projects worldwide, validating data quality, engaging in humanitarian outreach, GIS & IM support and training, data analysis and visualization, and web map creation.