The IMSMA team has been working over the last year with the Cambodian Mine Action and Victime Assistance Authority (CMAA) to bring the data collected during the National Level One Survey into IMSMA and make it available for use by mine action operators and support agencies throughout the country. The process began with a visit of the IMSMA support team in late February 2003 for the installation of IMSMA Version 3.0 and an on-site training course for the database support staffs from CMAA, and operators. The newly installed system began operations at CMAA using the data collected during the National Level One Survey in March of 2003.
Working in cooperation with Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), Hazardous Area Life-support Organization Trust (HALO), Mines Advisory Group (MAG), and Cambodia Mine Victims Information System (CMVIS) supported by the Cambodian Red Cross and Handicap International, CMAA began receiving operational updates to the survey data in late 2003 and entering these into IMSMA. The new data includes survey information, clearance activity progress reports, clearance reports and victim data. In order to speed-up the transfer of this new data into the system the IMSMA team visited Cambodia in mid January 2004 and together with the CMAA staff designed a plan to automate the update process.
Putting the data collected to work is the next big step being planned for IMSMA. Using a model already in place in a number of other programs, CMAA and the IMSMA team plan to bring Read-Only copies of IMSMA to operators and support agencies working throughout the country. Access to these Read-Only IMSMA systems will provide a common view of mine action in Cambodia to all of the actors involved. In other words, support agencies and operators will no longer be limited to knowledge of just their own work, but will be able to see a complete picture of all the work going on around the country as well as have direct access to victim data.
This process of information sharing through the use of a centralized IMSMA database and the distribution of Read-Only IMSMA systems to operators and support agencies throughout the country is an important new tool for mine action in Cambodia. The IMSMA support team is happy to have the opportunity to help get this important new project started by assisting CMAA and the entire Cambodian mine action community with technical support and IMSMA training.
