Missing Maps

Missing Maps
Name	Missing Maps
Formation	2014
Type	Non-profit
Headquarters	London
Region served	Global

Missing Maps is a collaborative humanitarian mapping initiative founded to produce open geospatial data for areas at risk from crisis, disaster, and disease. The project brings together volunteers, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, and technology partners to map vulnerable locations using satellite imagery, field surveying, and crowd-sourced contributions. Its work supports humanitarian response by creating baseline maps that inform planning, logistics, and public health interventions.

History

Missing Maps emerged in 2014 as a joint effort among British Red Cross, American Red Cross, OpenStreetMap, Royal Geographical Society and Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières). Early milestones included mapping campaigns in Haiti, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan following the 2014 Ebola epidemic and recurring Hurricane Matthew impacts. The initiative evolved through collaboration with academic partners such as University College London, University of Oxford, and University of Cambridge and with technology contributors including Mapbox, Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, and HOTOSM. Over time, campaigns expanded to include regions affected by the Syrian civil war, Yemen crisis, and recurring flooding in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Objectives and Activities

The project’s core objective is to create up-to-date, openly licensed maps to support organizations like World Health Organization, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and UNICEF during emergencies. Activities include remote mapping, field mapping, training local mappers, and convening mapathons with partners such as Red Cross Red Crescent, International Rescue Committee, and CARE International. The initiative prioritizes mapping for operations led by Save the Children, Oxfam, and Plan International as well as public health campaigns by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

Organization and Partnerships

The governance model involves steering and operational roles across NGOs, academic centers, and corporate partners. Notable organizational partners include HOT Tasking Manager, Humanitarian Data Exchange, Esri, Facebook Connectivity, and Google Crisis Response collaborators. Funding and institutional support have come from foundations such as Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UK Department for International Development, and Rockefeller Foundation. Regional partners include African Development Bank, Asia Foundation, and country organizations like Kenya Red Cross, Nepal Red Cross Society, and Haiti Civil Protection Directorate.

Methodology and Technology

Mapping methodology blends satellite imagery interpretation with ground-truth collection using tools like OpenStreetMap editors (iD, JOSM), Mapillary for street-level imagery, and GPS-enabled devices from manufacturers associated with Garmin and Trimble Navigation. The workflow uses platforms such as HOT Tasking Manager, OpenAerialMap, and datasets shared via Humanitarian Data Exchange and Copernicus Programme products. Machine learning teams from institutions like University of California, Berkeley and companies including Microsoft Research and IBM Research have experimented with automated feature extraction to aid volunteers. Data governance incorporates licensing via Open Data Commons and OpenStreetMap Foundation policies and interoperability standards from OGC and ISO.

Impact and Criticism

Impact claims include improved response times for humanitarian actors like Médecins Sans Frontières and logistical efficiencies for World Food Programme operations in crisis zones. Case studies cite application in vaccination campaigns coordinated with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and in flood response planning with International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Criticism has focused on data completeness and accuracy raised by academic reviewers from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Stanford University, concerns about remote mapping ethics voiced by scholars at University of Toronto and Harvard University, and debates over data sovereignty highlighted by representatives of African Union and Pacific Islands Forum. Privacy and security issues have been raised in contexts involving United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees operations and conflict-affected areas like Yemen and Syria.

Notable Projects and Campaigns

Notable campaigns include mapping for the 2014–2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa, urban mapping initiatives in Kibera partnered with Nairobi City County and University of Nairobi, flood resilience mapping in Bangladesh Delta Plan areas with Bangladesh Water Development Board, and cyclone response mapping after events such as Cyclone Idai in Mozambique. Other projects engaged volunteers during the 2015 Nepal earthquake alongside Nepal Red Cross Society and coordinate mapping for refugee response in Greece with International Organization for Migration and UNHCR. Mapping efforts have been recognized in collaborations with Sustainable Development Goals monitoring and by awards from entities like Prince of Wales's Charitable Fund.

Category:Humanitarian mapping organizations