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DevInfo in Action

DevInfo in Action stories are intended to highlight usage of DevInfo around the globe, where it has made a difference. We trust that these stories will inspire, challenge and encourage you to consider fresh ways to use DevInfo to further human development.

Using DevInfo Technology to Support Aid Effectiveness (24 January 2012)

In December 2011, leaders from across the world endorsed the Busan Partnership For Effective Development Cooperation sounding the call for aid effectiveness to be defined by development effectiveness within an expanded North-South cooperation paradigm.

Occupied Palestinian Territory: Using DevInfo to Provide Data for Decision-Making (19 January 2012)

National statistical organizations often wrestle with how best to fulfil multiple mandates: collecting, compiling, validating and disseminating statistical data; building capacity in statistical literacy for a diverse end user base; and ensuring that national demographic and socio-economic data is being used effectively to support policy decision-making.

Uzbekistan: Extending the Use of DevInfo to Foster Human Development Awarenes (17 January 2012)

Since 1990 the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been publishing Human Development Reports at the global, regional and national levels, with the purpose of raising awareness about human development around the world. These independently-prepared reports place human development at the center of the national political agenda, and serve as a key policy tool to identify inequities, measure progress, and mobilize support for positive change.

Asia: Using CensusInfo to Disseminate Census Data (12 January 2012)

With many countries in Asia having recently completed or in the process of completing their census data collection as part of the 2010 global round of censuses, officials are now grappling with the critical issue of how best to disseminate the mounds of tabulated data.

Bolivia: Using DevInfo to Help Monitor Rural Water and Sanitation Programmes (10 January 2012)

To support the Government of Bolivia’s efforts in increasing access to safe drinking water, basic sanitation and improved hygiene (WASH) for all citizens, the Water and Environmental (WES) section of UNICEF Bolivia has focused on WASH interventions in rural communities dispersed across 56 Bolivian municipalities.

Dubai: Using DevInfo to Monitor the Emirate’s Strategic Plan
(22 December 2011)

Dubai, one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) located at the southeastern end of the Arabian Gulf, has a thriving population of nearly 2 million people. With an economy initially built on trade and business, Dubai has significantly diversified over the past decade, emerging as an international business and tourist hub.

Using DevInfo to Strengthen Communication Efforts for Global Polio Eradication (20 December 2011)

In Nigeria, following a dramatic 95 per cent reduction in polio cases last year, the disease is once again on the rise – due in large part to lingering community resistance to polio immunization.

Using DevInfo to Share Maternal Mortality Estimates (16 December 2011)

Since the mid-1990s, the Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-agency Group (MMEIG) has focused on establishing internationally comparable maternal mortality rates, assisting countries in improving measurement of maternal mortality and strengthening data use.

Malawi: Using DevInfo to Strengthen Transport Sector Monitoring
(14 December 2011)

Malawi’s transportation sector stands to benefit greatly from experiences gained and lessons learned through DevInfo implementation successes across the border in its northern neighbor, Tanzania.

Bhutan: Using DevInfo for Emergency Preparedness (06 December 2011)

On 21 September 2009, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck the Himalayan nation of Bhutan, leaving an estimated 7,290 citizens without adequate shelter and causing an estimated US $52 million in overall damage.

Tanzania: Using DevInfo to Monitor Development Progress in the Transportation Sector (01 December 2011)

Since 2000, unprecedented local, national and international efforts have focused on the achievement of the eight Millennium Development Goals. As a result, marked improvements can be seen in many countries in the health, education and economic sectors.

UNFPA: Using DevInfo to Strengthen Reproductive Health Analysis
(23 November 2011)

With the countdown towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 under way, global attention is turning to the most off-track of all MDGs: Target 5b, which is universal access to reproductive health.

UNFPA: Using DevInfo to Track Progress Towards Achieving Universal Access to Reproductive Health (17 November 2011)

On 31 October 2011, the world’s population officially reached a heralded 7 billion. Leading up to and through this milestone, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has been at the forefront of the UN response.

Using DevInfo to Publicize International Migration Data
(15 November 2011)

Spurred by a steady increase in international migration over the past decades, migration has clearly emerged as one of the most critical – and complex – global issues of the 21^st century.

Panama: Using DevInfo to Strengthen UNDAF Implementation
(9 November 2011)

When Carlos Acosta, Coordination Officer, Office of the UN Resident Coordinator - Panama, joined the country task force to monitor the current Panama UNDAF 2007-2011, he quickly realized that the task set before him was nearly impossible.

Tanzania: Using DevInfo for Evidence-based Decision-Making
(2 November 2011)

The DevInfo national adaptation - Tanzania Socio Economic Database (TSED) - serves as a repository for government sectoral data across the country, providing instant access to over 700 indicators disaggregated by sex, location, and sub-national administrative areas.

Papua New Guinea and Egypt: Using di Profiles to Highlight Progress and Identify Gaps (25 October 2011)

Editor’s note: DevInfo (di) Profiles – customized data snapshots which condense hundreds of data points for any region onto a crisp single - or double-page display – were launched with the global release of DevInfo 6.0 in 2009.

Jamaica: Using CME Info to Train Budding Demographers
(19 October 2011)

University students taking population studies courses at the University of West Indies (UWI), Mona, Jamaica campus can soon look forward to a new online tool to train them in how to prepare demographic projections.

Dominican Republic: Using DevInfo to Assist Displaced Children
(11 October 2011)

When the massive 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010, it instantly affected the lives of an estimated three million people, a large percentage of whom were children.

Dominican Republic: Using DevInfo in Many Ways to Strengthen Data Management (5 October 2011)

Editor’s note: The Caribbean island nation of Dominican Republic is actively forging ahead with a number of DevInfo projects, involving a diverse array of implementing agencies. In this interview, Nelson Medina, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, UNICEF Dominican Republic, shares highlights on past, present and future DevInfo initiatives within the country.

Bhutan: Using DevInfo to Promote Access to Development Data
(27 September 2011)

In recent years the Kingdom of Bhutan has made great strides in improving the lives of its people, in keeping with its core development philosophy of maximizing Gross National Happiness. In fact, UNICEF Bhutan officials recently announced that the country is well on track to meeting most of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 impressive progress for the tiny country nestled in the eastern Himalayas.

South Sudan: Using DevInfo to Establish Foundations for Data Management (22 September 2011)

The world’s newest nation – South Sudan - gained independence on 9 July 2011, becoming the 193rd member state of the United Nations. The country’s excitement and jubilation over a long-awaited new beginning are tempered by the reality of significant challenges ahead in meeting the needs of more than 8 million citizens emerging from a season of historic destruction, displacement and neglect.

Cambodia: Using DevInfo to Foster Efficient Data Exchange
(20 September 2011)

Rebuilding from decades of civil war, Cambodia has witnessed rapid progress in both its economy and human development. As a key step to furthering this momentum, the Ministry of Planning (MoP) of the Royal Government of Cambodia has developed and implemented a series of National Strategic Development Plans (NSDP)

Brazil: Using DevInfo to Support Indicator-Based Training and Analysis
(14 September 2011)

A statistician with the Health Department in Salvador (the largest city on Brazil’s northeast coast and the capital of Bahia state), Jessidenes Leal had devoted four years to developing a set of indicators to track the performance and quality of the state’s health information system.

CrimeInfo: Using DevInfo to Fight Crime (7 September 2011)

With crime and corruption being one of the chief obstacles to human development progress worldwide, it is little wonder that fighting crime has become a priority for many developing nations, including India.

Samoa: Using DevInfo to Foster Youth Development (31 August 2011)

In the Pacific Island nation of Samoa, the country’s youth generally face the same challenges as their global counterparts in the areas of education, employment and relationships. However, Samoa’s geographic location renders the nation’s young people particularly vulnerable to additional stresses shared by citizens of other small island developing states.

Djibouti: Using DevInfo to Strengthen National Statistical Data Management (25 August 2011)

In the midst of the worst drought to afflict the Horn of Africa in 60 years, officials in Djibouti struggle to respond to the growing needs. As of late July 2011, the UN estimated that the number of drought-affected refugees in Djibouti had exceeded 18,000, with another 165,000 people in urgent need of food assistance.

World Economic Forum: Using DevInfo to Track ICT Progress
(23 August 2011)

The role of information and communications technology (ICT) as a key barometer of global development has been increasingly recognized, particularly in the developing world

Liberia: Using DevInfo to Further Post-Conflict Recovery
(16 August 2011)

Situated on the west coast of Africa, the Republic of Liberia continues to recover from the effects of two civil wars spread out over fourteen years. A nation still in the midst of post-conflict recovery, Liberia faces numerous challenges in rebuilding its devastated country.

India: Using CensusInfo Technology to Share Census Data
(10 August 2011)

The Government of India recently carried out the nation’s 15th census, the largest administrative exercise in the world’s second most populous nation. To accomplish this massive feat, an army of 2.7 million census workers fanned out across 35 States and Union Territories, 640 districts and over 600,000 villages in February 2011, going door to door with census forms in any of 16 national languages.

Using CensusInfo Technology for Census Dissemination in Africa
(3 August 2011)

One of the major lessons learned from the 2000 round of the World Population and Housing Census Programme, during which 57% of Africa’s population was enumerated, points to the necessity of taking full advantage of the data collected through censuses via appropriate dissemination and analysis mechanisms.

Rwanda: Using DevInfo to Combat Malnutrition (28 July 2011)

For the last two decades, malnutrition has persisted as a significant public health problem in Rwanda, contributing to high infant and child mortality rates across the country.

Moldova: Using DevInfo to Prepare Advocacy Maps (26 July 2011)

On 8 December 2010 at UNICEF Headquarters in New York City, the UNICEF Moldova Representative shared a presentation titled, “Where on Earth is Moldova: Equity and Child Rights.” The audience was quite varied and included the Deputy Executive Director, senior Programme and Communication colleagues, fundraising staff, interns and administration staff.

Moldova: Using DevInfo to Tackle Rural Deprivation (21 July 2011)

In recent years, poverty in Moldova has declined in urban areas while it has increased in rural regions. This troubling trend was highlighted in the Second Millennium Development Goals Report for the Republic of Moldova (2010), which attributed much of the cause to climate-related factors negatively affecting agricultural yields over multiple years.

Moldova: Using DevInfo to Monitor MDGs (19 July 2011)

Sandwiched in between Ukraine and Romania, the Republic of Moldova has struggled economically since its independence in 1991. Classified by the European Parliament in 2009 as the continent’s poorest country, Moldova has been working with the support of various aid partners to advance the nation’s human development, with the eventual aim of joining the European Union.

Egypt: Using CensusInfo to Disseminate Census Data (13 July 2011)

Based on evidence from papyrus manuscripts and Pharaonic temple monuments, Egypt was likely one of the first countries in the world to carry out a census - purportedly in 3340BC. The country undertook its first modern census in 1882, with its most recent one occurring in 2006.

Cambodia: Using DevInfo to Monitor the UNDAF (6 July 2011)

This week’s edition focuses on a new online monitoring tool – UNDAF Info – which has been designed to help UN Country Teams (UNCT) track joint progress towards the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). Built on DevInfo database technology, UNDAF Info provides timely and easy access to UNDAF monitoring and evaluation data in a single online dashboard.

Bihar, India: Using DevInfo to Fight Polio (28 June 2011)

In November 2010, we published a DevInfo in Action story titled, “India: Using DevInfo to Eradicate Polio”. We continue this series here with a follow-up interview with Dr. Saumya Anand, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, UNICEF Bihar (Polio Division), and Mr. Bijendra Kumar, Data Manager, Social Mobilisation Network, UNICEF Bihar, who share lessons learned and best practices for using DevInfo in the ongoing fight against polio in the North Indian state of Bihar.

Niger: Using DevInfo to Advance Poverty Reduction (22 June 2011)

Lying on the southern edge of the Sahara desert, the landlocked West African nation of Niger struggles to overcome an array of development challenges.

Jordan: Using DevInfo to Present National Data on Information and Communications Technology (15 June 2011)

Although Jordan may suffer from limited natural resources, the Kingdom has been overcoming nature’s shortfall by developing a booming information and communications technology (ICT) sector - now a pillar of the national economy.

Papua New Guinea: Using DevInfo to Contribute to Gender Advocacy in Education (9 June 2011)

In the Government of Papua New Guinea’s strategic campaign to close long-running gender gaps in its education system, Coretta Naig serves as one of its key champions.

Papua New Guinea: Using DevInfo to Share Official Education Data
(7 June 2011)

When senior management within Papua New Guinea’s Department of Education (DOE) began asking for access to the department’s Educational Management Information System (EMIS), the IT staff was pleased, but equally concerned.

Papua New Guinea: Using DevInfo to Teach Demography and Population Analysis (31 May 2011)

Inside the computer lab at the University of Papua New Guinea (PNG), students work on their assignments with focused intensity. One concentrates on generating data for an MDG-related question, while another wrestles with how to best format a map.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Using DevInfo to Contribute to Democratic Governance (12 May 2011)

In its bid to join the European Union (EU), the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is turning to an unlikely source to strengthen its case for democratic governance: DevInfo.

UNAIDS: Using DevInfo to Transform AIDS Data into Policies and Programmes (5 May 2011)

In the global campaign to respond effectively to the spread of HIV/AIDS, a new tool has emerged which aims to greatly improve decision-making on HIV/AIDS-related policies and programmes: a suite of cutting-edge data analysis tools collectively known as AIDSinfo.

Argentina: Using DevInfo to Assist Public Officials with Child Protection Issues (27 April 2011)

Argentina has the second highest Human Development Index in Latin America. Even so, poverty in the country continues to persist, affecting in particular the well-being of the nation’s children.

Yemen: Using DevInfo to Support Development Challenges
(19 April 2011)

Located on the southern edge of the Arabian peninsula, the country of Yemen faces a variety of economic, environmental and political challenges in its path towards development.

Sri Lanka: Using EmergencyInfo to Collect Data to Rebuild Lives
(8 April 2011)

By all estimates, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami ranks among the worst natural disasters ever to strike Sri Lanka, killing over 30,000 and displacing over one million people from their homes.

Using DevInfo to Unveil Child Mortality Estimates (17 March 2011)

Child mortality ranks as one of the most recognized indicators of human development worldwide, serving as a benchmark in assessing a country’s overall progress towards development.

East Asia and the Pacific: Using DevInfo to Support Gender Equality in Education (10 March 2011)

When 10-year-old Mai and her brother Eu completed the second grade in their small community of Ban Xai, XiengKhuang province, Lao PDR, they weren’t sure if they would be able to study further. The nearest school offering Grade 3 was eight kilometers away, across hilly and muddy trails that would require at least an hour of travel.

Brazil: Using DevInfo to Sharpen Municipal Planning Efforts
(3 March 2011)

Rodrigo Marques had no idea that his initial inquiry into DevInfo would eventually transform municipal planning efforts in his city.

Argentina: Using DevInfo to Strengthen Provincial Planning to Fulfill Child Rights (24 February 2011)

Santino Martin was born premature at just 450 grams, his body so tiny that he fit completely within the palm of the nurse who carried him to the intensive care unit. He spent his first six months there fighting for his life, regularly attended to by a team of concerned doctors and his anxious mother.

Cameroon: Using DevInfo to Prepare District Health Maps to Track the Nation’s Health (17 February 2011)

Tasked with the challenge of providing public health services for the nation’s 19 million people, Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Health (MoH) had been seeking ways to strengthen its ability to monitor and track health care across the country.

Mali: Using DevInfo to Strengthen Inter-Agency Efforts on Behalf of Women and Children (10 February 2011)

Bintou Kassambara (26) dreams that her six-year-old daughter will one day be able to accomplish what she could not do: get a secondary school education. Having started primary school late in her town of Dioro, 150 kilometers away from Mali’s capital, Bamako, Kassambara was 20 years old when she was in the seventh grade.

Jordan: Using DevInfo to Monitor National Living Standards
(3 February 2011)

By most measures, the country of Jordan is faring well. The 2010 Human Development Report categorized it in the list of “high human development” countries. A recent study issued by the country’s Economic and Social Council declared that in 2008, the middle class comprised 41 percent of the country’s population.

USA: Employing DevInfo as a Research and Mapping Tool at New York University (17 December 2010)

John Toner had never heard of DevInfo before when he went to Guatemala this past summer to conduct an independent research project on microfinance, as part of his graduate level coursework at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs.

Tunisia: Using DevInfo to Determine Equitable Distribution of Children’s Clubs (10 December 2010)

Every day after school now, Ahmed (10) looks forward to spending time in the children’s reading room at the recently opened government children’s club, where he can feast his imagination upon hundreds of colorful story books.

Brazil: Using DevInfo to Publicize Metropolitan Data (3 December 2010)

True to its name, the city of Campinas was formerly blanketed by thick grass fields covering gently rolling hills. Since then, Campinas (the name actually means “grass fields” in Portuguese) has grown to become the tenth richest city in Brazil and a leading center for research, academia and high-tech industries - giving rise to the city’s new moniker as the “Silicon Valley of Brazil.”

St. Vincent and the Grenadines: Using DevInfo to Consolidate National Data (26 November 2010)

From a data management perspective, it was clearly a situation in need of improvement. The various ministries and departments of St. Vincent and the Grenadines lacked any standard procedures for maintaining data records.

Serbia: Using DevInfo to Advocate for Children at the Local Level
(19 November 2010)

Recent progress in realizing the fulfillment of child rights in Serbia – particularly for the more vulnerable groups – can be credited in part to the introduction of DevInfo use at the municipal level, through monitoring the Local Plans of Action for children.

India: Using DevInfo to Eradicate Polio (12 November 2010)

In the heartland of the North Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and
Bihar - Ground Zero of the global campaign to eradicate polio from the planet – the Government of India struggles to win the battle.

Aceh, Indonesia: Using DevInfo for Post-Tsunami Recovery
(5 November 2010)

PIPIT WILL NEVER FORGET THE DAY THE OCEAN SWALLOWED HER VILLAGE, wiped out her family, and swept her through churning waters past lifeless bodies.

Lao PDR: Using DevInfo to Monitor the Results of Growth and Investment (29 October 2010)

The Government of Lao PDR is taking concrete steps to move the country off the list of Least Developed Countries by 2010.

Egypt: Spurring Better Governance through Competition
(22 October 2010)

UNICEF Egypt and its partner IDSC (Information and Decision Support Center for the Cabinet of Ministries) had already trained a critical mass of key staff across government ministries on how to use DevInfo.

Serbia: The Daily News Delivers Maps Using DevInfo (15 October 2010)

Blic, one of the highest circulation daily newspapers in Serbia, had come up with a great journalistic idea: an eight-day series of articles (small encyclopaedia) under the theme, “All about Serbia.”

Seychelles: Using DevInfo to Supply Climate Data to Program Planners and Decision Makers (8 October 2010)

MARCEL BELMONT IS NO ORDINARY WEATHERMAN. As Assistant Meteorological Officer with the Government of Seychelles, Belmont is passionate about using climate data to help spur human development in his country.

Brazil: Using DevInfo to Boost Public Welfare Funding
(28 September 2010)

Armed with little more than a DevInfo database, a weighing scale and a generous dose of civic passion, Gilson Trindade was able to dramatically boost public funding for low-income families in his city.

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