Weekly Health Update | DRC Adds Mobile Data to Ebola Surveillance
The Democratic Republic of Congo is utilizing anonymized mobile phone data to track the spread of a severe Ebola outbreak that has claimed over 3,000 lives. Regional health organizations are also coordinating on cross-border disease surveillance and global health governance.
Why it matters
The use of big data in public health surveillance represents a technological advancement in managing rapidly spreading epidemics in resource-constrained regions.
email facebook linkedin twitter Whatsapp Ebola, mpox, diphtheria and cross-border disease surveillance featured prominently in health news across Africa this week. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak surpassed 3,000 deaths and 6,250 confirmed cases, while anonymized mobile phone data were deployed to help identify areas at risk. In Addis Ababa, 13 countries signed a cross-border cooperation agreement on health emergencies. Africa CDC was chosen to represent regional health organizations in talks on reforming global health governance, while a global mpox vaccine stockpile was launched and diphtheria affected 29 local government areas in Nigeria’s Katsina State.
DRC Ebola: More Than 3,000 Dead as Mobile Data Help Anticipate Spread
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