Smartphone Technology Helps Track Dengue Cases In Pakistan

Huffington Post: How Cellphones Helped to Dramatically Reduce New Cases of Dengue Fever in Pakistan
Ravi Kumar, digital strategist at World Bank Group

“…According to Logged On, Smart Government Solutions from South Asia, a report by the World Bank, the [Pakistan] government … came to the decision to use smartphones to monitor anti-dengue activities and track where new cases were appearing. … [Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB)] developed an app to record anti-dengue activities. Everyone in dengue-tracking teams was given smartphones. They took geo-tagged pictures that were displayed live. After the data was gathered, [then-chairman of PITB Umar] Saif led the data analysis process to find out where the government should focus its preventive activities. This new dashboard allowed officials including the chief minister to track the progress. He used the dashboard in his meetings to ensure ‘that no vulnerable or affected areas were neglected.’ … This is a remarkable example of a smart government solution…” (4/3).

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