Mapping Maternal Health
We aim to host a global map of maternal health clinics using crowdsourcing to create an unprecedented resource and exchange mechanism for millions of frontline professionals.
In the late fall of 2009, this map will clickable, allowing users of Maternova to post their clinics and see who else is working nearby. You will be able to add your own clinic or network of clinics to the global map. You will then be able to search the map by district or province to see who is working nearby. Underpinning the map will be a professional network capability allowing you to create groups and start discussions with other providers.
Systematic, comprehensive maps of clinics, private and public, do not exist in most countries. In many settings frontline providers do not have an easy way to learn who is providing care nearby—nor is there a ready way to communicate with like-minded colleagues and providers nearby.
On the Maternova map, health workers and specialists will be able to ‘mark’ their clinic(s) from either a computer or a mobile phone using a virtual pushpin to signify the clinic location and record critical information about catchment area, staff, clinical specialties, level of care etc. At a local level, the interactive maps will allow people and clinics (large and small, stand-alone and networked) to literally put themselves on the map—but also to see where they fit relative to a broader health system and to readily contact those working nearby. At a macro level, the maps will allow policymakers, donors and decision-makers to see where populations are underserved and where health care activity is already quite dense. Eventually, by overlaying population density, poverty and geographic/topographical maps, planning for new clinics and for policies can be optimized for both efficiency and equity.
Countries in Crisis
The countries in orange are in a state of maternal/neonatal health crisis. Let's work together to map out where you are already working.
Maternova is working to make connections and accelerate the deployment of innovative tools in these areas. This map will soon be clickable, allowing users of Maternova to post their clinics and see who else is working nearby. This map also highlights countries where the majority of support, R&D, and development efforts are originating.
Mapping maternal mortality
- Click here to go to the World Mapper website for dynamic maps with statistics related to Maternal and Neonatal health. This site is an unusual visual depiction of the burden of maternal mortality. Thus, the countries appear distorted in order to drive home the point that a few countries bear a disproportionate share of the globe's maternal deaths.
- Go to a second innovative map of maternal mortality here: Show/world.