2025-11-30 –, Audition Room - 2nd Floor Language: English
Accurate geospatial data is critical for effective public health interventions, particularly during disease outbreaks in resource-limited settings. We implemented a novel, low-cost participatory mapping approach that successfully geolocated 764 residential areas in Blantyre district, Malawi, during the 2022-2023 cholera outbreak response.
Despite Blantyre district's having comprehensive health records, approximately 60-70% of residential areas documented in cholera case listings lacked proper mapping and geographical coordinates in existing spatial datasets. This data gap severely hindered targeted vaccination campaigns and outbreak response efforts during Malawi's deadliest cholera outbreak.
We developed a community-embedded methodology that leveraged local knowledge through Health Surveillance Assistants (HSAs) and utilized accessible technology tools. Our mapping workflow integrated KoBo Toolbox for offline data collection on smartphones, participatory mapping with YouthMappers and local health workers as guides, real-time data monitoring and validation and community stakeholder engagement for quality assurance.
Our project employed a simple yet effective combination of tools. KoBo Toolbox for survey design and data collection, smartphone GPS capabilities for coordinate capture, R Statistical Software for data processing and standardization, GitHub for code sharing and reproducibility and Zenodo repository for dataset sharing.
In 15 working days, our team of five data collectors (3 YouthMappers and 2 research assistants from Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Research Programme (MLW)) successfully mapped 764 residential areas with <5-meter GPS accuracy at a total cost of $2,005.69 (approximately $2.60 per location). This represents an 85% cost reduction compared to conventional professional surveying approaches ($15,000 to $30,000 for comparable coverage) while maintaining acceptable spatial accuracy for public health applications.
Key innovations in our study were the elimination of expensive surveying equipment through smartphone-based GPS collection. Leveraging existing health system infrastructure and community health worker networks. Offline-capable data collection system suitable for areas with poor connectivity. Real-time validation and quality assurance mechanisms and open-source data processing pipeline for reproducibility.
The resulting dataset, now publicly available through Zenodo (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15487740), has been integrated into ongoing cholera surveillance and vaccination planning efforts. Our methodology demonstrates significant potential for scalability across Malawi and similar resource-constrained settings, particularly in countries with established community health worker programs.
This experience highlighted the effectiveness of combining simple, accessible technologies with participatory approaches and local knowledge systems. Key success factors included strong stakeholder engagement, iterative validation processes, and the strategic use of existing health infrastructure.
Beyond outbreak response, this approach has broader applications for patient locator systems (currently implemented at MLW), health service planning, and routine disease surveillance. The methodology offers a practical framework for rapidly generating accurate geospatial data in emergency contexts while building local capacity and ensuring community ownership.
Chifuniro Baluwa is a distinguished Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Specialist from Malawi with extensive expertise in geospatial data analysis, public health research, and environmental science. She holds a Master of Science in GIS with Distinction from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom, and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science with Credit from Lilongwe University of Natural Resources (LUANAR).
Currently serving as a Pre-PhD Fellow at the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Research Programme (MLW), Chifuniro focuses on developing computational skills in statistical modelling and data visualization while exploring data sources for public health interventions in both urban and rural settings. Her research contributes to scientific manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
Chifuniro's professional journey includes significant roles with different organizations. As a Research Assistant at the MLW, she facilitated cholera hotspot mapping and developed fine-scale location datasets for Blantyre district. Her experience as a Geospatial Data Officer with UNICEF Malawi involved preparing and maintaining geospatial information to support country office programmes, UN agencies, NGOs, and the Malawi government.
Her technical expertise ranges from remote sensing, mobile data collection, GPS technology, R programming, and QGIS analysis. She has also completed specialized training in drone and data technology through the African Drone and Data Academy.
Chifuniro has contributed to several scientific publications, including research on health facility catchment areas, location data collection methodologies, and disease mapping studies published in prominent journals such as Communications Medicine and Scientific Reports.
She is an active member of professional associations including Women in GIS, Unmanned Vehicle Systems, and serves as a volunteer mapper for the Malawi OpenStreetMap Community. Chifuniro continues to advance geospatial science applications in public health and environmental research across Malawi.