1. Geography and Health Using geography to strengthen data and improve health in the developing world John Spencer Senior GIS Specialist MEASURE Evaluation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

2. Healthy population is a vital part of a functional society Poor health significant challenge for humanity HIV* 33 million adults worldwide living with HIV (2009) 2.1 million children under 15 TB** 1.3 million people died from TB in 2008 One-third of humanity infected with TB bacilli Malaria** 247 million cases of malaria in 2008 Every 45 seconds, a child in Africa dies of malaria (20% of all childhood deaths on the continent) *UNAIDS ** WHO Photo source: auldhippo, Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/auldhippo/3489898073/

3. Billions (if not Trillions) of dollars are spent to improve health International aid from governments  US Government (PEPFAR, USAID, CDC, DOD)  European Union  United Nations Private foundations and charities  Gates Foundation  Clinton Foundation  CARE National Efforts  Programs supported by individual governments with own funds

4. Data is key to improving health outcomes Data sources Routine reporting systems and surveillance Provide data on health programs and health incidence  National surveys  Routine reporting systems Monitoring and Evaluation Using data to better understand and track effectiveness of services and interventions

5. Data streams

6. Geography can be the link between datasets Everything happens somewhere Geographic Cognizance  Including geographic identifiers in data  Using geography to make linkages Decision support tools  Maps  Summary tables Stronger data infrastructure  Use available data to support decision making  Validate and improve data Better health outcomes  Health programs and interventions that are based on evidence are better than non-evidence based decisions

8. Challenges Accuracy  Accurately locating services and people  How accurate is sufficient Getting people to collect geographic data  Data collection challenges  Perspective that includes geography Geography is dynamic  Boundaries are fluid  How to manage changes and keep record of past geography

9. Everything happens somewhere