Globe Telecom joins the DISHA partners' coalition to bring dynamic population mobility and vulnerability insights to the Philippines' Humanitarian Community

The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone regions of the world, with approximately 74% of its population exposed to hazards including floods, cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis and landslides¹. These storms, and the landslides and floods they can cause, may force people to seek shelter outside of their home, and people often must evacuate their village or region. Understanding where affected people have moved and how to prioritize disaster response efforts are among the very first questions humanitarians face in the wake of a disaster.

Having dynamic data about where people are evacuating to after a disaster is essential, because it gives first responders the information they need to allocate aid resources more quickly and efficiently. Instead of sending supplies or personnel to the hardest-hit areas only, first responders can pinpoint the areas where people have fled to, and direct help there as well. As mobile phone penetration rates continue to increase, population mobility helps detect abnormal spikes in population inflows or outflows for a given region. Analyzing those patterns allows one to create dynamic representations of areas with higher levels of poverty and vulnerability, which can provide insights that enable allocation of resources to those most in need.

To leverage the opportunities afforded by the analysis for disaster preparedness and response, UN Global Pulse, the UN Secretary-General’s Innovation Lab, signed a landmark pro-bono agreement with the Philippines’ Globe Telecom, Inc. Globe became the first mobile network operator to become a coalition partner in DISHA (Data Insights for Social & Humanitarian Action), a multi-partner initiative led by UN Global Pulse, which brings together humanitarian organizations, AI researchers, data providers, funders, and private sector partners to accelerate access to responsibly leveraged AI and data for disaster response.

We’re excited to welcome Globe Telecom to the DISHA Partner community and look forward to working side-by-side with Globe and humanitarian agencies operating in the Philippines to validate and scale the DISHA Socio-Economic Mapping solution in the country. When used responsibly, trends derived from telecommunications data can meaningfully augment operational analytics available to first responders. We thank Globe for recognizing this potential and investing with us in realizing it

Katya Klinova, the Head of AI for Humanitarian and Development Use at UN Global Pulse

Given the Philippines’ vulnerability to the impacts of climate change, Globe is honored to be the first telecommunications company to join the DISHA coalition. This multi-sectoral partnership underscores our commitment to sustainability by leveraging digital technology to enable solutions and inspire collective action towards inclusive sustainable development.

Yoly Crisanto, Chief Sustainability and Corporate Communications Officer at Globe

Our partnership with DISHA provides a crucial data-for-good solution that will enable disaster management agencies and partner organizations to deliver life-saving aid to those who need it the most. Because connectivity is essential in those first critical hours after a disaster, DISHA’s Socio-Economic Mapping solution allows Globe to proactively prioritize service availability in shelter areas, to enable recovery.

Jenny Echevarria, VP for Enterprise Data and Strategic Services at Globe

How is DISHA being used in the Philippines?

Whenever a disaster hits, the DISHA Socio-Economic Mapping dashboard is ready to be used by first responders. It allows a user to view dynamic maps for Population Movement and Poverty Nowcasting.

The Population Movement view is a heatmap highlighting regions with abnormal movement of people in and out of regions. Regions highlighted in the hues of red are experiencing an abnormal inflow during the selected time period, whereas regions highlighted in the hues of blue are experiencing an abnormal outflow.

Image 1: Population movement trends 3 days post eruption at Mt Kanlaon, Negros Island on December 9, 2024

The Poverty Nowcasting insights are constructed using machine learning models trained on government census data, trends derived from telecommunications data, as well as other anonymized signals as inputs. DISHA’s hope is that offering a dynamic view of poverty levels refreshed on a regular basis can serve as a complementary solution during the disaster preparedness phase of humanitarian work.

Image 2: Poverty Nowcasting, poverty rate in Negros Island, in December 2024.

This Socio-Economic Mapping solution was developed in collaboration with DISHA’s coalition partner McKinsey & Company and its AI arm QuantumBlack. We are grateful to the McKinsey and QuantumBlack colleagues who have provided their resources and technological expertise to develop, validate and iteratively improve the solution.

There is so much potential for data, analytics and AI to significantly accelerate disaster relief and recovery efforts. We feel privileged to be part of DISHA and help harness that potential to save lives and livelihoods. What’s even more encouraging is that with the right partnerships, these solutions can be rapidly scaled and deliver even greater humanitarian and social impact.

Ankit Bisht, McKinsey partner

The QuantumBlack team is proud to have helped enable access to aid faster through our AI capabilities and it has been a pleasure to collaborate with all parties involved. The impact we have achieved together has been unlocked through data, which is only possible thanks to our data partners. My hope would be that Globe’s collaboration with the UN spotlights how data-sharing can drive meaningful change for good and inspires other private sector organizations to join in and deliver greater social impact.

Paul Beaumont, Senior Expert, McKinsey

Catholic Relief Services (CRS), an international humanitarian organization operating in the Philippines, has been testing the Philippine’s implementation of the DISHA Socio-Economic Mapping solution. We are grateful to CRS for providing valuable feedback and input to the DISHA team, which helped make the solution more intuitive and robust. We also thank the Philippines Red Cross and Oxfam for helping to shape the early vision and product features.

Partnering with the UN and Globe on leveraging mobile data through the DISHA dashboard will significantly enhance CRS’ ability to assess needs in real time and accelerate our disaster response efforts by getting data-driven insights that enable faster and more effective decision-making.

Howard Bacayana, Deputy Program Manager, Emergency Response, Catholic Relief Services

Starting now, we’re expanding the beta-testing program for the DISHA Socio-Economic Mapping solution-Philippines, and invite humanitarian organizations operating in the country to express interest in testing and validating the solution. All users will be vetted and trained by the DISHA team to interpret the insights and will be made aware of its limitations as well.

As a UN-led initiative, DISHA adheres to the UN Principles for the Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence and IASC Operational Guidance on Data Responsibility in Humanitarian Action. All data DISHA uses is stripped of any information that could identify individuals and handled in accordance with strict privacy and data governance standards. DISHA commits to transparently disclosing product limitations to its humanitarian users and working closely with them to thoroughly test and validate the product.

Registered humanitarian organizations operating in the Philippines can apply for access to the DISHA Socio-Economic Mapping solution by filling out the online application form.For any other questions, please email disha@unglobalpulse.org.

¹ https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/country/philippines/vulnerability