Abstract

Identifying service gaps and planning needs through GIS
Track: Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Affairs
Authors: Mohammad Khan, Saima Khan

There are 168 service facilities, termed as Drop in Centers (DIC) for Injecting Drug Users and Female Sex Workers located all over the Bangladesh. Monitoring of DIC-based services was geographically challenging due to heterogeneous dispersion of multiple services through DIC among districts and camps. GIS as a tool helps to determine access to and gaps in providing essential services for these Most-at-Risk-Populations. Through standalone software, data on service availability and utilization and unit-level trends are analyzed for program planning. Non-spatial data on health services and distribution of condoms & needles/syringes are linked with spatial geo-data for performance monitoring. Based on that ESRI ArcView software produces maps which show locations of facilities for further suitability analysis including planning in case of over-lapping services. GIS mapping helped identify effective service delivery gaps and presented complex data into simplistic results for monitoring; hence it can be recommended in assessments in difficult settings.