Healthsites.io : a Free, Curated, Global, Canonical Source of Healthcare Location Data for Emergency Relief, Disease Epidemic and Crisis Situations
Drazen Odobasic & Franka Grubisic
When disaster strikes, the interaction between endangerment and disaster may result in significant injuries and possibly, the loss of human lives. In all emergency situations, the prioritisation of health services must focus on meeting both the short-term and long-term needs of the victims. Countries are being encouraged to improve their disaster preparedness, along with growing international commitment to strengthening health systems. Currently when a natural disaster or disease outbreak occurs there is a rush to establish accurate health care location data that can be used to support people on the ground. This has been demonstrated by events such as the Haiti earthquake and the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. As a result valuable time is wasted establishing accurate and accessible data. healthsites.io establishes this data and the tools necessary to upload, manage and make the data easily accessible. Currently health care location data is either incomplete or not available in an accessible open manner. Healthsites.io aim to provide a single point of reference for healthcare workers, aid agencies, contingency planners, government agencies and citizens who need access to a highly curated global and community validated dataset of healthcare facilities. By simply clicking on the map users can discover what healthcare facilities exist at any global location and find out what resources exist at any individual healthcare facility.
Event: FIG Working Week 2016 : Recovery from Disaster
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