How Satellite Imagery Is Being Used in the Battle Against Ebola in West Africa

January 9, 2015

DigitalGlobe products used in fight against Ebola

LONGMONT, Colo., Jan. 8 (UPI) — DigitalGlobe, an Earth observation and geospatial solutions company, says its products are playing an important role in the international effort to combat Ebola in West Africa.

A series of Image City Map products recently released to government and non-governmental organizations by the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for use in the anti-Ebola effort were derived from DigitalGlobe satellite imagery and human geography data sets, it said.

The products will be used in the support of disease response operations and for predicting the spread of the contagion.

"This proactive and forward-leaning government-industry partnership is crucial when it comes to preparing for and responding to humanitarian crises of all kinds," said William Arras, DigitalGlobe’s Vice President of U.S. Government Customer Experience. "Analysts may utilize this data to better understand where infrastructure is located, where the disease has the greatest risk of transmission, and what populations are most at risk."

The company said the data is available through the NGA’s EnhancedView program, which has also released country-scale DigitalGlobe human geography data layers. The data includes information on demographics in West Africa, critical infrastructure, economies, ethnicities, education levels, environment and medical facilities.

"Our partnership with DigitalGlobe to provide geospatial information and mapping products to the largest audience possible is crucial in supporting the international community and health care personnel in West Africa as they respond to the Ebola crisis," said Martin Cox, National Geospatial-Intelligence Officer for Africa and Mission Manager for the Ebola GEOINT Response.