Goal 3 - Good Health and Wellbeing

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

“Significant strides have been made in increasing life expectancy and reducing some of the common killers responsible for child and maternal mortality. Major progress has also been made on increasing access to clean water and sanitation, reducing malaria, tuberculosis, polio and the spread of HIV/AIDS. However, many more efforts are needed to control a wide range of diseases and address many different persistent and emerging health issues.”

Public health data collection projects provide local governments and organizations with the information to improve their response to health-related issues, such as malaria prevention, and cholera and Ebola outbreaks. Adding health facilities and their capacities to OpenStreetMap can help governments and partners understand gaps in services, help local communities locate nearest services, and assist first responders when disease outbreaks occur. Understanding household information and distribution can also assist with improving access to health care and monitoring behavior that impacts health outcomes.

What has been done?

Data Zetu: In Tanzania, HOT used mapping data they had collected on wards, sub-wards and districts in Dar es Salaam – corroborated by local communities on the ground – to provide Amana Hospital with information to better pinpoint patients’ geographic origin. With this information, the hospital can identify locations that are at risk of diseases, enabling them to prevent infection and even fight infant malnutrition. After updating the hospital’s electronic systems, HOT also trained 40 staff at the hospital on how to use the data.

Malaria Elimination: In 2018, HOT supported malaria elimination projects on the ground in Guatemala and Botswana by providing geographical data and training to national governments. These projects worked to improve the usefulness of the OSM data in malaria elimination interventions, including support for the logistics and indoor residual spraying campaigns, better data for further types of interventions such as bed net distribution, and improved monitoring and evaluation to measure intervention impacts.

What else could be mapped?

• Map areas affected by disease outbreaks to more effectively track new cases and transmission on the ground, aimed at ending the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and neglected tropical diseases.
• Map incidence of households displaying healthy behaviors; for example, sleeping under a long-lasting insecticide-treated bednet in malarious countries or seeking timely care when ill.
• Map barriers to healthcare services, such as the distance people must travel for healthcare and the cost of transportation.
• Map spaces that are accessible or inaccessible to people with disabilities.

OSM Data Model