The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has launched a new data platform to better understand migration and human mobility in times of crisis through new data sources and methodologies such as satellite imagery, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), social media and mobile phone data.
The Data Innovation Directory (DID), which is part of IOM’s Global Migration Data Portal, features more than 50 projects and initiatives that use these data sources to shed light on the implications for mobility during global crises, such as the current Covid-19 pandemic.
“As countries grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic, harnessing big data to effectively monitor and address social and economic implications has become more important in discussions around the world,” says Frank Laczko, director of IOM’s global migration data analysis centre. “Timely and comprehensive data are invaluable to designing policy responses in health, economy, employment, and mobility.”
Several of the projects featured in the DID were implemented during the current and past health crises, from Ghana to Estonia, the US to Singapore.
One innovative project in Ghana monitored human mobility during lockdown using mobile phone data from Vodafone. The project monitored the volume of movements between regions and city districts before and after lockdown policies were implemented. This provided key insights into the effectiveness of the measures that were taken.
The results demonstrated that during initial restrictions in urban areas – closing schools and banning public gatherings – it took half a week to decrease movements between districts to 70% of the pre-pandemic average. Once total lockdown was imposed, data indicated that movements fell sharply to 50% of the average.
“Data generated from traditional sources are not sufficient,” says Ola Henrikson, director of IOM’s Regional Office in Brussels. “The lack of information on geographic coverage and frequency of updates is problematic during emergencies. We can improve this.”
When natural disasters strike, fast and accurate information on migration flows can save lives.
For instance, in the days following the 2015 Nepal earthquake, over 390,000 displaced people needed humanitarian support in surrounding valleys of Kathmandu. Thanks to insights obtained by analysing call detail records (CDRs) of mobile phones, emergency staff knew precisely where to execute disaster relief operations just nine days after the catastrophe erupted.
“The potential of these data innovations for informing migration policy is far from being fully realized. Early observations show how such innovations can improve our understanding of migration-related phenomena,” adds Laczko.
The Data Innovation Directory was developed by IOM’s GMDAC within the framework of the Big Data for Migration Alliance (BD4M) – a joint collaboration with the EU Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC).