Application of FOSS4G and Open Data to Support Polio Eradication, Vaccine Delivery and Ebola Emergency Response in West Africa.

Abstract

In Africa, the use of GIS technology in the health sector is still nascent, with cost and lack of expertise being significant barriers to utilization (Tanser and Le Sueur, 2002). Data is very critical to implementation of GIS to support health projects (Oppong, 1999) and one of the problems in Africa is decentralized and uncoordinated data collection (Tanser and Le Sueur, 2002) which contributes to inadequate access to spatial data to support health projects. Free Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) solutions can play a substantial role in various health projects across the continent, mainly because of the freedom it gives to their early adopters. Currently, FOSS4G (QGIS, Open Data Kit, OSRM, etc.) and Open Data tools (OpenStreetMap, CKAN, etc.) are used across several projects in supporting Ebola emergency response in West Africa, polio eradication and vaccine delivery in Northern Nigeria. The ongoing successes of these projects using FOSS4G clearly show that usage of these solutions in the health sector is sustainable and achievable in Africa. Cost-saving from the use of mature FOSS4G, eHealth Africa (eHA), a technology focused NGO, has been invested back into capacity building activities, thereby reducing the problem of lack of GIS expertise to support health projects. eHA has been able to train local personnel on utilization and application of GIS solutions. This helps to build stronger technical knowledge of its personnel and improve health services by offering GIS solutions built on FOSS4G and cloud servers based on Open Source software to make spatial data more accessible.