Prof.Sundeep Sahay
GIS in Developing Countries GIS being used by developing countries to achieve socio-economic progress The promise of GIS to support development processes remains largely unfulfilled Major GIS projects in developing countries being initiated within the public sector Large investments have been made and will continue to be made in the future
What is a GIS? GIS is a System of software, hardware, and data and personnel to help manipulate and present data that is tied to a spatial location GIS integrates database operations (for example, queries and statistical analysis) with mapping functions GIS thus different from other types of information systems
Components of GIS Hardware - from centralized servers to desktop applications Software - for mapping, DBMS, geographical analysis, GUI Data - most important component - spatial and nonspatial data People Methods and procedures
Data Spatial database Attribute database Location data (what, where, how many) Scale - local to global Data presentation - text, chart, tables, maps Estimates are that 80% of data has a spatial component
Spatial Health Applications Health affected by spatial factors - demographics, life style, environment Distribution and diffusion of disease and its relation to environmental factors Applications in epidemiology, health planning, disease control, interventions, monitoring
Some Examples Transmission of malaria Health atlases Planning for health facilities Cause and effect relationships between environmental factors and diseases Population programs Vector-borne disease monitoring
Disease Out break report
Influenza A (H1N1 - "Swine Flu") Reports
Comparative analysis of raw data Mozambique, number of BCG does given for the year 2001 Andhra Pradesh, number of live births for the year 2003 10
Comparison with two or more Data Andhra Pradesh, district wise comparison of raw data for the year 2003 Nampula Province, district wise comparison of institutional deliveries 11
Location Analysis location and access to different health facilities can be displayed with zoom in feature to specify location. Chittoor District, Location and access analysis of PHCs Gaza Province, Location and access analysis of health facilities 12
Buffer Analysis This feature analyzes the coverage of health facilities with respect to population catchment area. Kuppam Constituency, Coverage of PHC by using 5,10 and 15 kms buffers Gaza Province, Health facility coverage using 5 and 10 kms buffer 13
Experiences with GIS in Developing Countries Despite rhetoric to the contrary, the impact of GIS can best be described as marginal Large money spent in proprietary and expensive projects Many pilot and R&D projects, but little of any substance in terms of real applications Socio-economic realities of developing countries not adequately accounted for in design & implementation of GIS projects
Key constraints in applying GIS Availability of maps with health boundaries Weak capacity in health departments Very expensive: Both in setting up and deployment The problem of technology transfer Institutional constraints: fragmented systems Spatial requires the non spatial Manpower constraints Project Management practices
Institutional Constraints Key bottleneck to GIS efforts Existing decision making styles - people rather than institution based Role of the technocrat Inadequate coordination mechanisms: national and also project levels Organizational change does not accompany technological introduction
Data (spatial & non-spatial) Management Problems Constraints in data collection and processing: technical and institutional Non-available in digital/paper forms; outdated; nonstandardized formats; inappropriate scales and resolutions. Weak culture for use of maps and data Over-emphasis on remotely sensed data Lack of data related policies
Manpower Constraints Demand-supply for GIS professionals Universities lag behind the technology Primary focus on research Miagration of students to the West GIS not seen as a career GIS unrecognised in the government Vendors deemphasize training issues
Project Management Practices Primary focus on technical implementation Primary role of technocrats Transitions abrupt and discontinuous Resource requirements in GIS projects No sustainable institutional mechanisms Responsibilities not defined Frequent transfers of project staff
Implications for Inter-Agency Coordination Data management coordination efforts national level: geomatics policy project level: data management strategies Coordination to improve technical support
Free and Open source GIS application KIDS: Key Indicator Development Systems Cartoweb: is a comprehensive and ready-to-use Web- GIS as well as a convenient framework for building advanced and customized applications. GeoServer: is an open source software server written in Java that allows users to share and edit geospatial data. MapFish: is an easy-to-use and extensible web 2.0 mapping application framework.
GIS Component in DHIS2 Population programs
Selecting Non Spatial health attribute
Output Combining Spatial & Non Spatial
Export to Excel
Approach to GIS for Health Embedding GIS component in Health application not wise versa. Enabling both offline & Online deployed of GIS & health application Enabling Queries/filter not only spatial but also non-spatial attributes Enabling updates both spatial & non spatial attributes Using free & open source application and demystifying it for the users,