Aid experts at the Department for International Development (DFID), from the UK Government, have teamed up with the Met Office (national meteorology service), NASA and US scientists to use for the first time a world-leading approach to accurately predict where and when cholera will spread in Yemen.
Impact / Outcome
The Met Office’s supercomputer in Exeter makes 14 thousand trillion calculations per second allowing it to take in 215 billion weather observations from across the world every day, which are used as a starting point for UK and global weather forecasts. In Yemen, high-resolution models are used to forecast out to six days, providing UNICEF accurate and critical intelligence as they identify areas most at risk. The forecast produced by the Met Office and the predictions produced by the US scientists are then shared with UNICEF and other aid so they can see which neighbourhoods, schools and hospitals will be at greatest risk, helping them to target their response to where support is needed most.
This breakthrough of accurately predicting where and when the disease will spread has meant that aid workers can take action before an outbreak occurs.
Funding sources
Public/Private
Key Metrics
Use of technology to accurately predict where and when cholera will spread
Operating model
Public-private partnershipYear published
01 January 2018