Better Body Bag

ICRC‘s forensic unit handles approx. 50.000 victims every year. One important task is the identification of the victims. The identification needs to take place within 48 hours, otherwise visual identification is no longer possible. This is particularly challenging in warm climates.

Project Stage

Proof of Concept

Last update: October 05, 2023

Overview Contributors

Challenge

identification of dead bodies

Description

During THE Port humanitarian hackathon at CERN in 2014 the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) set the challenge for a new body bag design to better identify victims of natural disaster and conflict. THE Port team - which after the hackathon transformed into the Social Solutions Research Association (SSRA) - took on the challenge. The new body bag design preserves bodies longer, is leak proof and contains odours. It is lighter than existing models at a comparable price point. This collaborative approach resulted in a better post-mortem identification and will aid to reduce trauma of relatives and field helpers. The Global Humanitarian Lab (GHL) is facilitating the scaling up of this solution across the humanitarian sector.

SDGs