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Data Platform
WHO Health EDRM Knowledge Hub
Health data sharing platforms or disaster databases contain large amounts of data from emergencies and disasters and facilitate access to high-quality datasets to practitioners, researchers and/or the public. There are some shortcomings in the use of data from these systems, including a lack of standardization in collection methodologies and definitions, the absence of a single reliable source of verified data, and inconsistent objectives across various databases. These challenges can make it difficult to compare outputs across databases and to estimate the range and true magnitude of impacts.
Despite these challenges, being able to access to good quality data is crucial for planning public health interventions during emergencies as well as for conducting epidemiological research relevant to health emergencies and disaster risk reduction (Health EDRM).
The WHO Health EDRM Knowledge Hub on Health Data Management introduces various global databases on health emergencies, COVID-19 and global health.
1. Databases and data platforms for health emergencies
WHO Health Emergency Dashboard is an interactive web-based application, providing a snapshot of events and emergencies being responded to by WHO worldwide. It also includes information available to the public through official websites such as WHO’s or Ministries of Health sites relating to public health emergencies.
The Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) launched the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) in 1988. EM-DAT is the International Disaster Database, containing core data on the occurrence and effects of more than 15,700 disasters since 1900. This resource provides information on the human impact of disasters, such as the number of people killed, injured or affected, along with disaster-related economic damage estimates and disaster-specific international aid contributions. The database is compiled from various sources, including UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, insurance companies, research institutes and press agencies.
DesInventar is a disaster loss database to analyze the disaster trends and impacts in a systematic manner to help plan better prevention, mitigation and preparedness measures. DesInventar is linked with the Sendai Framework Monitor and shares a list of databases from countries on the website.
The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) developed the Sendai Framework Monitor to track progress in implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. The intention is to provide more complete systematic information about the occurrence of all disasters, aligned with the targets of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.
More information
More information can be found in Chapter 2.1: Using epidemiological principles to assess impacts of emergencies and disasters in the WHO Guidance on Research Methods for Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management, revised 2022.
2. Databases and data platforms related to COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for data to evolve beyond mortality and frequency of events to understand and respond to the impact on communities.
The WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard shares official counts of confirmed COVID-19 cases, deaths, the recovery rate, and active cases globally. The Dashboard also includes detailed information on testing, contact tracing, and other measures taken by countries to control the spread of the virus.
WHO COVID-19 Research Database provides the latest findings and international multilingual scientific knowledge about COVID-19.
More information
More information can be found in Chapter 6.1: Health EDRM research in the context of COVID-19 in the WHO guidance on research methods for health emergency and disaster risk management, revised 2022.
3. Databases and data platform for global health
To understand the health and socioeconomic impacts of disasters, it is also important to be able to access data which are collected in non-emergency situations.
Datadot is a data source for global health, developed through the World Health Data Hub (WHDH) programme of WHO's Division of Data Analytics and Delivery for Impact. The Hub is a digital tool to improve access to global health data and provides a secure environment for Member States to upload and review and analyse data.
WHO manages and maintains a wide range of data collections related to global health and well-being as mandated by its Member States.
WHO partners with DHIS2 which is a free, open-source software platform for collecting, analysing, visualizing and sharing data. DHIS2 is used on various health-related initiatives, such as creating standardized metadata packages to strengthen data use at both national and international levels.