QGIS

One of the gaps at the decentralized level is that district health staffs, district health management teams (DHMTs) and other district authorities are not making sufficient use of geographic information systems (GIS) tools available to them for evidence-based decision making. This is especially the case for identifying new locations for health posts, monitoring geographic distribution of disease burden or risk factors to better target their interventions. “QGIS” is “a professional” GIS software which is open (served for free) with functionalities to visualize, manage, edit, analyze data, and compose printable maps. Building capacity of decentralized level staff in QGIS would improve the use of data for decision making, especially in the areas of high interest such as family planning, malaria, and maternal and neonatal health.