Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. 20 August 2019. Outbreaks of Zika in 2016 and Chikungunya in 2014, have highlighted the need to use advanced technologies to collect and review data, in order to prevent and respond to epidemics in a timely manner. Applying these technologies allow agencies to address how the diseases spread geographically.
CARPHA has partnered with the Emory University Center for Humanitarian Emergencies and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, together with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help develop capacity in the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to aid in the combat of Zika and other arboviruses in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Participants from 15 CARPHA Member States received advance training in Geographic Information for Vector Surveillance (GIVeS). The aim was to integrate various innovative GIS technologies that can be used to strengthen health systems in the Region to manage and respond to the threat of vector-borne and other communicable diseases. This advanced training which took place at University of the West Indies, St. Augustine from 12th – 16th August 2019 is a follow up to the introductory level GIVeS course facilitated by CARPHA, Emory University Center for Humanitarian Emergencies, and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in 2017.
