Multi objective shelter location-allocation in conflict areas: A case study in north of Syria

The Syrian crisis broke out in March 2011. Millions of affected people have left their homes, and many of them were displaced as well. Individually, internally displaced persons (IDPs) are encountering difficulties in terms of shelters, health, food, and other urgent needs. In this way, we concentrated on determining shelter locations within a region of Idleb-Syria in this study. For this aim, we employed real data from the region which were collected from the direct beneficiaries and produced a mixed integer model utilizing weighted goal programming model based on humanitarian context which is determined by Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). The aims of the suggested model included maximizing mainly covered demand, cash for work, shelters with scalable up, portable water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities and covered people with vulnerable humanitarian criteria such as; people with disabilities, children attending school, pregnant/lactating women and people with chronic diseases and concurrently minimizing cost while taking into account shelter capabilities and restrictions of located shelters. Furthermore, GIS (Geographic Information System) was employed. The proposed model was solved via an optimization software and we reached a global optimum solution. Moreover, sensitivity analyses were conducted to strengthen the study. As a result, decision makers can be availed from the model's outputs and sensitivity analyses to obtain a compromised solution in such a disaster in nearby countries.