C.I.S.F.A.M.: Consolidated Information System for Famine Management in Africa - Phase One Report (Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters - World Health Organisation, 1987, 33 p.): CHAPTER 2: CISFAM: An Experimental Information System: 2.3 Overview of the Databases Examined: (introduction...)

C.I.S.F.A.M.: Consolidated Information System for Famine Management in Africa - Phase One Report (Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters - World Health Organisation, 1987, 33 p.)

CHAPTER 2: CISFAM: An Experimental Information System

2.3 Overview of the Databases Examined

		*(introduction...)*
		Limitations and Caveats in the Data

(introduction...)

Several data bases were examined including both electronically maintained and data on cards, reports and other forms of hard copy. Certain CISFAM countries had better data reporting than others and the variability was significant

Statistical services of certain countries had been out of operation for several years and therefore the only viable data sources were non-governmental organizations and sample surveys and studies. Data quality also, varied widely from sector to sector.

Meteorological, ecological and climate data bases provided the best quality information in terms of reliability, coverage, accuracy and time series. The Climate System Monitoring database of the World Meteorological Organisation initiated as a response to the occurrence of significant climate anomalies over the last decades with associated adverse socio-economic effects provided potentially useful information. It carried synthesized information on climate anomalies, rainfall variability and vegetation data by small geographic areas. It has available time series data for the past 110 years on African rainfall. The data, however, is fairly technical and is not divided into the political and administrative boundaries of the countries. Similarly, the soils and temperature databases of Africa held by United Nations Environmental Programme are also very robust and reliable.

Several databases from the six different sectors were explored. A summary of the electronically registered data-sets are presented below:

Table 1: Summary of International Computerized Database Relevant to CISFAM
*SYSTEM NAME*	*AVAILABILITY*	*SUBJECT COVERAGE*	*GEOGRAPHICAL COVERAGE*
GLOBAL INFORMATION AND EARLY WARNING SYSTEM (GIEWS)	Agency staff; other U.N. agency staff; External users	Food supply agricultural production, food aid; pest control; meteorology; commodity markets; and prices.	Worldwide
INTERLINKED COMPUTERIZED STORAGE AND PROCESSING SYSTEM OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY DATA	Agency staff; Other U.N. agency staff; External users	Food statistics; agricultural statistics; crops; agricultural production; imports/exports; land use; agricultural workers and machinery; fertilizers; forestry and fishery statistics.	Worldwide; Regional; National; Sub-national
DATA PROCESSING AND COMMUNICATIONS UNIT	Agency staff; Other U.N. agency staff; External users	Consultants; disasters; devastation; regional analyses damages compensation emergency relief; supply management; disaster prevention.	Worldwide
DISASTER HISTORY PROFILE DATA EASE (HISTORY)	Agency Staff, Other U.N. agency staff; External users	Disasters; natural disasters; disaster prevention
COMMODITY MARKET PRICES SERVICE	Agency staff; Other U.N. agency staff; External users	Prices, commodity prices and markets.	Worldwide
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS AND PROJECTIONS DATA BASE	Agency staff; Other U.N. Agency staff; External users	Economic indicators; social indicators.	Worldwide; Regional; National
EPIDEMIOLOGICAL INFORMATION INDEX	Agency staff: Other U.N. agency staff; External users	Infectious diseases; transmission epidemiology
GLOBAL EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SURVEILLANCE AND HEALTH SITUATION ASSESSMENT	Agency staff; Other U.N. agency staff; External users	Mortality; causes of death; infectious diseases; health personnel; hospitals demographic and health statistics Morbidity	Worldwide; Regional; National
HEALTH LEGISLATION	Agency staff; Other U.N. agency staff; External users	Health; legislation; environmental legislation; aging; human nutrition; food standards; pharmaceuticals; poisons occupational hygiene; health statistics	Worldwide; Regional; National; Sub-national
WORLD CLIMATE DATA INFORMATION REFERRAL SERVICE (INFOCLIMA)	Agency staff; Other U.N. agency staff; External users with restrictions	Climate; meteorology; geophysics; climatology	Worldwide

The health sector information on the other hand, was disappointing in both coverage, quality and continuity. The physical resources, such as hospitals, dispensaries, health centres and skilled personnel enumerated in the source agencies, were the only items with regular reporting. However, a major caveat in these items are that frequently hospitals and health centres are, in fact, inoperative and therefore, the value of these numbers are questionable for certain objectives. For crisis management and long-term planning, however, the knowledge of their existence can be useful. Several sample surveys on nutritional status and incidence of nutritional deficiency diseases are available but no officially reported figures on on-going basis. Continuous data collection in this field is undertaken only by large non-governmental organisations, who, generally execute this function as an incidental by-product of their principal activities. Country statistical annuaires and card files were used for data on four of the CISFAM countries at provincial levels. Table 2 presents a summary of the CISFAM database contents listing gross categories of variables by sectors.

Table 2: CISFAM Database Contents: Sectors files, Items Categories and Sources
*CLASS*	*CONTENTS*	*FORM*	*SOURCE*	*COMMENTS*
*Health*	Basic Health Indicators WHO HFA Indicators Primary causes of morbidity Health service coverage Health establishments and personnel Cholera, yellow fever: incidence and deaths	Numeric	Weekly Epidemiological records/WHO HFA Indicator Data Set U.N. Population Division Global Epidemiological Surveillance/WHO Country Annual Reports	Available on sub-national levels for Senegal, Mali, Niger, Mauritania
*Food Agriculture*	Food supply, cereal availability; cash/food crop production; livestock products prices; food intake, irrigation; means of production; land use; food aid; agricultural population	Numeric	Agricultural production database; GIEWS/FAO Development Centre OECD	National; occasional sub-national; large survey data available
*Ecology*	Soil status; animal pressure; population pressure; desertification hazard index; vegetation cover	Geographic	Global Environmental Monitoring System	Sub-national; by small geographic areas with no administrative boundaries
*Demography*	Population estimates projections; mortality, fertility and other vital statistics	Numeric	U.N. population division; World bank; World Fertility Survey International Statistical Institute	National level large survey data
*Climate and meteorology*	Precipitation; geographical co-ordinates; temperatures; windspeed, growing season	Numeric; raster	Climate monitoring system/WMO	Georeferenced data
*Social and economic*	Macro-economic indicators; education and social indicators food import/exports	Numeric	OECD; World Bank Country annual reports
*Maps*	Desertification index; population and animal pressure	1:5,000,000	UNEP/GRID	All countries
	Administrative and communications	1:500,000 digitized	Institut Graphique National, Paris.	Only Senegal, Mali, Niger
	Administrative and geographic	1:1,000,000		All countries