The Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping branch (VAM) in WFP performs food security assessments to understand who the needy are, how many are they, where are they, what risks do they face and what is their ability to cope. VAM also monitors market prices, cross border trade and nutrition indicators to issue early warning regarding food security shocks. The innovation consists in the use of PDA, GPS and mobile phones to collect and transmit the data gathered in the field. This has enhanced the speed at which data is made available and greatly improved the quality of the data collected.
