COVID-19 is one of the most severe public health challenges in recent memory. South Africans with pre-existing illnesses are particularly vulnerable but a map of the most affected communities could help the government plan their response. That’s why we’re calling on companies and developers in the community to help build a beta-map.
Thank you to everyone who volunteered to help build this tool. The project is now closed. You can find out more about the vulnerable communities mapping tool here.
Project Background
The SDG Hub at the University of Pretoria has been tasked with creating a health-map of our communities that are particularly vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19. The Vulnerable Communities Map intends to use publicly available data to identify vulnerable communities and support the government in their response.
To do this effectively, the map needs to showcase:
- Demographics: number of people by ward, population density by ward, level of formality by ward, income-level by ward
- Health vulnerability: Age by ward, HIV prevalence by municipality and/or district, TB prevalence, cardiovascular disease prevalence, diabetes prevalence
- Mobility: Linkages between communities
- Social vulnerability: Poverty by local municipality (using the South African Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index)
- Access to health care: Average distance to the nearest health facility, number of hospital beds
See this sheet for the current list of data sources
Project timeframe
Due to the urgency of the crisis, a beta version should ideally be ready by 18 March 2020.
It will then be presented for input to the CEO of the National Health Laboratory Service, the custodian of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases. It will also be presented to the SDG Hub’s partners in The Presidency.
After this consultation, an updated version should be ready by 23 March 2020.
Who can help and get involved
Due to the nature of the project and the urgency, please only get in touch if you can start helping immediately.
- Companies that provide GIS services or applicable mapping and data layers
- Individuals that have the following skillsets:
- GIS Mapping, layering, geo-coding
- Data visualization
- GIS project management
Currently Involved/Volunteering
- SDG Hub at the University of Pretoria (project owner)
- Quantium
- RiskScape
- Qode
- Google’s Head of Cloud SSA (acting as tech lead on loan)
- OfferZen (trying to find people that can help)
Updates
[16 March 12:00] Created blog post
[26 March 10:00] Project closed and update shared here