HALO Trust Maps in Ukraine
As the conflict in Ukraine continues, a many organizations have gathered in Rzeszow, Poland to aid displaced people and begin rebuilding as soon as the fighting stops. The initial step was mapping the damage to prioritize the reconstruction and resettlement necessary to safely return Ukrainians to their homes. Over the first month of the conflict, more than 4 million people have fled the country, and an estimated 6.5 million people are internally displaced. For The HALO Trust (HALO), the largest demining organization in the world, the mapping effort is focused on identifying the presence of explosive remnants of war as well as damage to homes and infrastructure. The HALO team is using a geographic information system (GIS) to detail the impacts and the ongoing dangers. “What we do is critical to reconstruction and resettlement post-conflict, because you cannot just deal with the damage straight away,” said Luan Jaupi, head of information and communications technology at The HALO Trust.