December 2024: GARC Data Platform Featured User
Our first ever featured GARC Data Platform user is the Directorate of Veterinary Services (DVS) in Namibia who has been using the Rabies Vaccination Tracker (RVT), Education Initiative Tracker (EIT) and Rabies Case Surveillance (RCS) tools to collect and visualize their rabies-related data in the Northern Communal Areas of Namibia since 2018.
Below are some interesting figures relating to the DVS’s use of the Platform over the course of the last 12 months.
Number of regions where the GARC Data Tools are being used: 8.
Number of dog vaccinations tracked: 118,843.
Number of cat vaccinations tracked: 8,131.
Number of educational events tracked: 63, reaching more than 17,800 people.
We asked Dr. Reinhold Haimbodi, the national rabies project coordinator, some questions about the Namibian government’s use of the Platform.
1. Briefly explain what rabies-related work you do?
I am a national rabies project coordinator in Namibia, responsible for coordinating the government’s monthly rabies elimination activities across the Northern Communal Areas (NCA) of Namibia such as vaccination campaigns, as well as rabies education awareness.
2. What benefits have the GARC Data Tools provided you?
This GARC Data Platform has made it easy to monitor the progress of the vaccination campaign remotely by visualizing each vaccination point on the map and providing interactive thematic maps that really helped us to improve the organization of our future vaccination programs. Above all, it provides comprehensive data analysis, such as vaccination coverage by region, constituency, and the entire targeted area, along with interactive thematic maps. These features have been invaluable in improving the organization of our future vaccination programs. The maps generated by the Platform also allow us to easily present proof of activities during meetings with stakeholders, development partners, or donors – boosting their confidence in our efforts.
3. Which of the GARC Data Tools have been most beneficial to your work and why?
- Rabies vaccination tracker: This tool has been useful for our rabies vaccination campaigns as it allows us to remotely monitor the vaccination progress and provide complete data analysis such as the vaccination coverage.
- Rabies surveillance: This tool allows us to pinpoint where rabies cases are occurring within our communities, helping to prioritize vaccination efforts in high-risk areas.
- Education initiative tracker : This tool is beneficial as it estimates the impact in terms of the number of people reached by our rabies education awareness programs.
GARC wishes to thank the Directorate of Veterinary Services (DVS) in Namibia for their ongoing use of the GARC Data Platform.
If you are working towards rabies elimination and you are not part of our growing network of Platform users, why wait any longer? You can benefit from improved data collection and visualization – while also engaging with potential donors in a more meaningful way – in a few weeks.
Alternatively, if you are already an active user of the Platform, let us know by sending us an email and you could be featured too!
