MapSwipe for iPhone

MapSwipe: Helping Humanitarian Organizations Locate Vulnerable People

MapSwipe is a free iPhone application developed by the British Red Cross Society. It falls under the category of Utilities & Tools and aims to assist humanitarian organizations in locating vulnerable people around the world. By using satellite imagery, users can contribute remotely to humanitarian missions by identifying settlements, roads, rivers, and other features in crisis-prone areas.

Developed in support of the Missing Maps Project, MapSwipe allows users to choose specific tasks in regions facing crises, such as identifying villages at risk of a cholera outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Users can then swipe through satellite images, tapping the screen to mark the location of various features.

The information gathered by users is then utilized by professional mappers to create detailed maps that can be used in the field. Traditionally, mappers would spend days scrolling through countless images of uninhabited forests or rural deserts in search of small, often remote communities. However, with MapSwipe, members of the public can contribute their time to humanitarian organizations like Médecins Sans Frontières and the Red Cross, making the process of locating vulnerable populations more efficient and effective.

By using MapSwipe, users can make a generous contribution to these organizations, allowing professionals on the ground to quickly and accurately deliver life-saving aid to those in need.