Increasing water point data sharing for evidence-based decision-making in Ethiopia: The start of a journey
Guest Blog by Laura Brunson, Ph.D., Deputy Director, Millennium Water Alliance Ethiopia is home to 112 million people with more than 81 million living in rural areas. According to a 2017 Joint Monitoring Program report, in rural areas of Ethiopia, only 4% have access to safely managed water services, 30% have basic water service, and […]
How to use machine learning to predict water point status
Guest Blog by Lars Heemskerk, Consultant for Akvo < The water point you selected is probably no longer functional > If you’re responsible for providing drinking water to as many people as possible, this is the kind of information you want to have access to – especially when you’re hundreds of miles from the water […]
Celebrating Open Data Day 2021: The Power of Rural Water Point Data to Improve Decisions
WPDx is excited to promote transparent data sharing in the rural water sector through our first Open Data Day celebration! Bringing Together the Pieces of the Puzzle Across the WASH sector there is growing recognition that regular monitoring, data collection, and evidence-based decision making can improve water access program outcomes, and many organizations and governments […]
Upcoming Open Data Day 2021 Celebration
*Please see here for our updated post and special recognitions!* March 6th, 2021 is International Open Data Day, an opportunity to promote awareness and use of open data. The Water Point Data Exchange (WPDx), the world’s largest open data repository for rural water point data, is going to celebrate Open Data Day by sharing information […]
Updates to the WPDx Data Standard
In January, 2021, the WPDx Working Group voted to approve the addition of three new parameters, plus some minor edits and clarifications to the WPDx Data Standard. The new parameters include: • Tertiary Administrative Division (#adm3) Description: Provide the name of the tertiary administrative division. The correct unit can be found at http://www.statoids.com. This corresponds to “Third Order” […]
Reflecting on 2020: The need for WASH
2020 was a year we will not forget. Our global community faced new challenges which changed day-to-day life in unprecedented ways. However, the importance of consistent access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services in communities and especially at health care facilities (HCFs) did not change, but was instead underscored, as we encountered many unanswered […]
Ministry of Water Resources in Sierra Leone Requests NGOs Share Data with WPDx
On December 3rd, 2020 the Ministry of Water Resources in Sierra Leone issued a letter to all international and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) requesting water point data be shared with the Water Directorate via the Water Point Data Exchange (WPDx). The letter establishes that District Mapping Officers, working under the District WASH Engineer, will be […]
WPDx launches new website and ingestion engine: making data sharing, access, and analysis easier
In November 2020, WPDx launched a re-designed website to make it even easier to for users to share, access and analyze water point data. A key feature of the new site is a new and improved “ingestion engine” which simplifies the process for sharing data with WPDx. The ingestion engine can accept data through a […]
DataRobot partners with WPDx to pilot transformative Artificial Intelligence for Good initiative
DataRobot, an automated machine learning platform that helps build and deploy accurate predictive models, has partnered with the Global Water Challenge (GWC) to pilot their Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Good: Powered by DataRobot initiative. DataRobot created AI for Good because they believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help solve the greatest challenges facing society. Whether […]
WPDx is highlighted as a global leader in WASH standards
In their first Global Report on Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), the Open Government Partnership (OGP) selected the Water Point Data Exchange (WPDx) as the leader in setting a standard for mapping and collecting rural water data. WPDx’s standard was classified under “Basic level and quality of service data.” The OGP established that the nominees in […]