By Kemo Cham
Sierra Leone has begun using a centralized public dashboard which provides near-real-time updates on the country’s response to the ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic.
The portal, which was launched in the first week of August. will provide information that include containment efforts and spatial information on critical resources, officials said.
The initiative called the Sierra Leone Covid-19 Response Hub Portal comes as the country struggles to contain the pandemic which has claimed 69 lives as of last week, with 1, 947 cumulative confirmed cases, as of Friday August 14.
The initiative is the result of a collaborative effort among various government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and some international development partners, notably the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation; Statistics Sierra Leone; the Ministry of Health and Sanitation; and the Ministry of Information and Communication. The government agencies had the support of ESRI, GRID3, and GPSDD.
Officials say the tool was designed to provide analyzed data on confirmed cases, recoveries, deaths and other indicators that meet public interest through a dashboard that gives a quick snapshot of the overall situation of the pandemic in the country, along with spatial information on health facility access, Risk and vulnerability, population estimates, settlement, points of interest, like markets, libraries, schools, water source site stations, and tourist accommodations.
The Hub is an addition to a growing number of digital tools being leveraged by the government to tackle the threat of COVID-19.
Officials say this initiative will help the government make effective decision and allocate resources appropriately.
Deputy Minister of Information and Communication, Mamadi Gobeh-Kamara, presided over the official launching of the portal which was done virtually on 7th August.
She said at the event that the idea behind the portal was part of the desire of the government to create a digitally inclusive society and an economy empowered by digital innovation and entrepreneurship.
The launching was preceded by a symposium on the theme: “Leveraging Digital Innovation in Public Health Emergencies – The Sierra Leone Experience”. Presentations were done by the heads of Statistics Sierra Leone, DSTI and the international partners.
Copyright © 2020 Politico Online
