The Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) is among governmental, non-governmental and intergovernmental organisations that have recently launched a Corona Virus (COVID-19) pandemic,mitigation effort. This data hub serves as a joint source of GIS COVID-19 related datasets. This is one of the applications using space-based applications for effective monitoring the global health crisis.

The launch of our web application is dedicated to monitoring the spread of Coronavirus across our 20 member States with accurate and real-time statistics on the number of active cases, recovered cases and reported deaths.

RCMRD is utilising data compiled from World Health Organization Daily Situation Report, thoroughly crosschecked and compared with the ones published the Health Ministries of each of our member States before it is updated on the application. 

The aim for launching the application borders on providing the general public, policymakers and relevant agencies in these regions, access to accurate data to keep in touch with the situation around them, particularly, with the social distancing and lockdown of all activities and movement in most states; appreciate the growth of the crisis and understand the risk factors associated with the pandemic to act accordingly and make the necessary decisions needed to mitigate the further spread of the virus.

Our application also allows the general public to make contributions on how to improve the data curated by the application.

The GIS data offered by the RCMRD COVID-19 data hub is organized into four broad categories: member State, current cases, recoveries, deaths. Our map is similar to the Covid-19 Map for the United States from Johns Hopkins University and Esri’s ArcGIS Dashboard platform.

Declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020, COVID-19 has become a global emergency, given its impact on the entire world population and the economy.  We all know that things are far from normal right now. Everyone’s first priority must be to stay safe and healthy. But, of course, the ongoing crisis still threatens our long-term health, well-being and prosperity.  And so, where safe to do so, we must continue our vital work.