Context

Many cities and countries rely on broad estimates rather than local data due to gaps in coverage, coordination, or capacity for data use. This makes it difficult to understand and respond to climate and health challenges, which often differ from one community to another, since traditional data collection methods do not capture detailed, regularly updated information at the local level. (PLOS Climate, 2025)

This data gap disproportionately affects residents, especially in informal settlements, who face persistent exposure to cholera and dengue due to inadequate WASH infrastructure, limited access to safe water, blocked drainage systems, and informal waste disposal. To address this, there is growing demand from governments, multilateral development banks, and researchers for localized geospatial data that enables evidence-informed decision-making. (WMO/WHO/Wellcome, 2024)

Open mapping offers a low-cost, high-quality way to measure climate-sensitive health risks and develop new knowledge and insights. Shared information also allows communities, government, and other groups to communicate and coordinate more effectively, because everyone can use and have access to the data.

Our Approach

HOT's community-led approach bridges the gap between local knowledge and institutional action. Open mapping is used to collect geospatial data at the community and household level to support decision-making by policymakers and individuals.

Residents of informal settlements will lead participatory data collection efforts to identify climate-health and infectious disease risks, take local action, and co-design interventions that improve resilience. To ensure sustainability and equity, HOT will embed capacity building and inclusive data governance frameworks so communities and authorities are able to lead ongoing data generation and use.

In Dhaka, Bangladesh: We're partnering with World Vision Bangladesh and local communities to develop the Dengue Vulnerability Index (DVI), a methodology that analyzes and transforms local data into an interactive, regularly updated dashboard of dengue risks. Community members will be trained to map mosquito breeding sites, such as open drains, waterlogged areas, and waste disposal sites using smartphones and drones. The collected data is then integrated into the dashboard, allowing local governments and stakeholders to easily monitor dengue cases, identify high-risk areas, and make informed decisions to guide interventions.

In Lilongwe, Malawi: We're working with the Centre for Community Organisation and Development and OpenStreetMap communities to map cholera risks. Community members will document open defecation sites, blocked drains, and waste disposal areas. Drone imagery will create detailed basemaps. This data will be combined with water quality information and past outbreak data to identify high-risk areas and inform community-led prevention measures.

In Kadoma City, Zimbabwe: We're partnering with Dialogue on Shelter for the Homeless and local OpenStreetMap communities to map cholera risks. Community members will collect data on open defecation sites, blocked drains, and informal waste disposal areas. Drone imagery will provide high-resolution basemaps. This data will be integrated with water quality indicators and historical cholera incidence to generate dynamic visualizations for population-level risk profiling and inform community-designed prevention measures.

Outcome

The project will generate measurable outcomes across three domains:

1. Reduction in disease burden through targeted, evidence-informed interventions
2. Increased use and integration of geospatial data across institutions
3. Implementation of scalable prevention strategies

These outcomes will be tracked through indicators such as reductions in reported cholera and dengue cases, institutional use of datasets for planning and service delivery, and deployment of health interventions informed by geospatial analysis.

Additionally, by training local communities to collect and use data, they contribute to maps that truly reflect the local context. This drives them to act as frontline actors, actively improving climate and health in their area through open mapping.

Deliverables

• Data: High-resolution drone imagery, 3D settlement models, and open geospatial datasets of relevant points of interest available through the UN's Humanitarian Data Exchange, OpenAerialMap, and OpenStreetMap. Data, dashboards, and visualizations accessible to communities, government, and researchers for informed decision-making. Online toolkits of standardized data collection workflows and OSM data models.
• Tools: We're improving three key tools to make mapping easier and faster. Improvements to Drone Tasking Manager (mobile native workflow, drone compatibility, imagery processing workflow, elevation models). Plug-ins to improve field mapping coordination and survey creation. Improvements to uMap templates and visualization capacity.
• Learning: We're documenting how open mapping can work for climate health. We'll publish case studies, present at conferences, and share findings through research articles so other cities and organizations can learn from this work.