Alcis – IDP Camp Counting – Monitoring and evaluating the activity of IDP camps in Afghanistan through the use of Machine Learning.
Alcis
IDP Camp Counting – Monitoring and evaluating the activity of IDP camps in Afghanistan through the use of Machine Learning.
Alcis has been working closely with the Norwegian Refugee Council to help monitor the movements of IDPs in Afghanistan by analyzing the number, flow, and concentrations of humanitarian shelters provided by NRC. There are different areas in Western Afghanistan that have become hubs for IDPs to set up camp. The map below shows a number of camps that have appeared surrounding the provincial centre of Qala’e’Naw, in Badghis province. These camps first started appearing in mid 2018 and have undergone continuous change and growth within that time.
| Year the project was started | 2018 |
| Year the project was completed | 2020 |
| Website | https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/8e71814917d043d5a088b6e5ad68153f |
| Type of organization. | Social business organization |
| Technology categories | Geo spatial analysis |
| Themes | Humanitarian & Emergency Relief |
| Topic/ Focus | Monitoring and evaluating the activity of IDP camps in Afghanistan through the use of Machine Learning |
| Methodology & Data | There is no right or wrong answer to which approach to take. The initial ArcPro work was not satisfactory enough for this task, but the method was much more time efficient for a more ‘quick and easy’ result. In contrast, the deep learning approach, designing a bespoke neural network, produced the most precise and accurate results, but was very lengthy to develop. The newer machine learning capabilities in ArcGIS Pro 2.5 provided us with a very accurate output, and was much less labor intensive. All methods have their pro’s and con’s so choosing which one depends on the task at hand. |
| Contribution & Discoveries / Practical Applications | In just a few images, we have located 6,538 NRC tents, believed to be temporary homes for over 30,700 internally displaced people. Information such as this is invaluable towards the humanitarian aid provided by the Norwegian Refugee Council, allowing them to improve the lives of those who need help the most. |
