In developing countries, diseases carried by mosquitoes kill thousands of people a year, droughts damage crops increasing food insecurity locally and in countries far away, and vaccination against polio means the difference between life and death for children. To address these problems, researchers and practitioners at the Earth Institute are using new approaches to help improve public health policies. The first involves research using temperature and rainfall forecasts to help public health agencies predict the outbreak of mosquito-borne diseases in Latin America and the Caribbean. The second involves utilizing high-resolution data to track vaccination teams in Nigeria and precisely locate people and the number of children that require vaccines.
Moderator: Justine Dowden, Project Coordinator, Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), The Earth Institute
Panelists:
- Ángel G. Muñoz, Associate Research Scientist, International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI), The Earth Institute
- Emilie Schnarr, Senior Staff Associate, Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), The Earth Institute
Moderator: Justine Dowden is a staff associate at the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), where she serves as a project coordinator for the Geo-Referenced Infrastructure and Demographic Data for Development (GRID3) program. She leads work in South Sudan, Namibia, Burkina Faso, and Mauritius, including COVID-19 response, census support, and capacity-strengthening in geographic information systems (GIS). She has a master’s degree in public health from the Columbia University Mailman School.
Panelists: Ángel G. Muñoz is an associate research scientist in the Climate Program of the International Research Institute (IRI), focusing on climate variations and predictability. His current work focuses on better understanding climate variations at multiple timescales, to enhance prediction methods and climate models, and to co-develop climate services with institutes around the world to improve food security and health decision-making processes. He has a PhD in climate sciences from Columbia University, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
Emilie Schnarr is a senior staff associate at the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN). She is country manager for Nigeria for CIESIN’s GRID3 program, where she coordinates government stakeholders in the provision and use of high-resolution geospatial data to improve decision-making within various sectors. She has master’s degrees in climate and society, and in environmental engineering, both from Columbia University.
