In 2020 OMDTZ collaborated with Tanzania Data Lab (dLab) for the community mapping projects conducted in Kyela Mbeya, Tanzania. Kyela community mapping project aimed to make data available, facilitate accessibility, and better use of data to inform decisions for sustainable development at the subnational level. dLab contracted OMDTZ to conduct a mapping exercise by collecting geospatial data required by the District stakeholders including Kyela local government authority. The following are the deliverables that OMDTZ has accomplished by now;
● Kyela district shina maps in both, soft and hard copies for each ward mapped in Kyela.
● Aggregated Kyela district map with all collected data on it in both, soft (in the form of an interactive web map) and hard copies
● Map literacy training module and report
● Develop three data use cases that the consultant will share during Data Tamasha
● Submit a minimum of two blogs to be published in the dLab newsletter
This project is built upon the learnings from the Data Zetu project which focused on enhancing community engagement and supported them to conduct mapping in Mbeya Urban and Temeke district in Dar es Salaam. It supported the collection of citizen-generated data for decision-making in the health sector. The project implementation was structured in three phases as described below.
Maps Generated
Hyperlocal boundaries Map: Showing shina boundaries in all 33 wards, these maps were highly needed by the ward executive officers.
Communal water points map: showing the status of communal water points and if the facility is working or not. This is very critical data to the authorities to make an analysis of the water supply in the district. Kyela is also one of the districts that are normally affected by Cholera, so having a map showing the distribution of water points is an asset.
Kyela Cocoa Cooperative Map: Map shows accessibility to these cocoa AMCOS and also data elaborating approximations of metric tons each AMCOS is collecting per annum
Hepatitis B awareness Map: We conducted mapping in two wards only – Bujonde and Mbugani due to limited resources in terms of funds and time. But conducting this survey to some extent has helped in understanding the level of awareness of the disease. 74.6% of the community members interviewed did not know the disease at all and 25.4% of the interviewed are aware of hepatitis B. We shared the data and map with the district medical officer, and they are hoping to use data as a case study for them to conduct an awareness campaign in the district
HIV Hotspot Map: Created by observing a distance matrix between communities and potential HIV hotspots i.e rest houses, bars, local bars, places of sex workers, hotels, clubs, and casinos.
Kyela Amenities Map: showing all important facilities/amenities i.e schools, and all boundaries within the district. This was specifically produced for the district executive office
Kyela Health Facilities Map: showing hospitals, health centers, dispensaries, clinics, and pharmacies. The map also shows an approximate number of patients per day in hospitals, health centers, and dispensaries. This helps to understand which facility is overwhelmed
Kyela Interactive Map: This is an interactive web map showing all collected data and anyone with the link can view it. This is specifically designed for the Kyela district office.
OpenMap Development Tanzania and Tanzania Data Lab together with Kyela District council are establishing a database of all community mappers who were deployed in the project. This is also a way of keeping working with these mappers in case there are any related projects in the future as the mappers are already trained and experienced in field mapping and data collection. There is an ongoing collaboration between dLab, Kyela District council, NGO’s, and CSO’s involved in the project to further use the collected data to inform decisions on their operations. dLab will keep in touch with these officials and support them where they need help.