
How software developers helped end the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone - danso
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/30/software-developers-helped-end-ebola-epidemic-sierra-leone
======
danso
I think society has grown accustomed to rolling its eyes upon hearing
software/web developers boldly say, "Let's save (i.e. disrupt) the world with
a full-stack responsively designed Web/iPhone app"...which is what I had
thought this linkbaity-sounding headline was guilty of...but I'm all for the
idea of programmers saving the world by focusing on _logistics_...God, how
great things would be if talented programmers could be drawn into high-
visibility projects, but to apply their engineering in solving the mundane,
unsexy kinds of things that computers are best at alleviating -- and be
_appreciated_ for it.

A lot of well-meaning hackathons I've read about that tackle problems such as
world health/hunger crisises usually look at how they can better disseminate
vital information, such as where the nearest shelters/hospitals are, etc.,
which is usually done in a beautifully designed site/app. But I suspect that's
of limited use to those in the impacted zones, not because they lack
phones/computers (though...that's not a _bad_ assumption)...but because an
app/site is probably not much better than a printed poster...and the well-
meaning developers lack access to information and real-time data that is
essential for adding value to a digital versus paper product.

But focusing on payroll? I know the adage, "an army marches on its stomach" is
centuries old (and similarly, the less old adage "Amateurs talk about tactics,
but professionals study logistics")...but I don't think I would have _ever_
zeroed on that as a pain point that was both potentially fatal to the greater
mission and one in which software developers could easily tackle...and I
wonder how such an insight could've been reached by the head developers if
they were either working remotely, or relying on a non-programming
administrator to convey the medical staffs' needs?

A post-mortem on this would be great :)

~~~
danharaj
The article mentions that they heavily relied on open source software. Ever
developer that contributes to open source enabled their success directly or
indirectly. It's worth pondering.

~~~
phonon
(Mostly) Python baby! OpenERP and Dedupe, along with OpenBR and OpenCV.

[http://idtlabs.sl/how-open-source-software-helped-end-
ebola-...](http://idtlabs.sl/how-open-source-software-helped-end-ebola-in-
sierra-leone-and-what-this-can-mean-for-west-africa/) [http://idtlabs.sl/idt-
labs-providing-tech-solutions-for-ebol...](http://idtlabs.sl/idt-labs-
providing-tech-solutions-for-ebola-response/)

~~~
icebraining
For people looking for it, OpenERP is now called Odoo:
[https://www.odoo.com/](https://www.odoo.com/)

We've been doing projects based on it for the past few years, and it's pretty
good as a platform, despite a few shortcomings. But the best part is using
PostgreSQL as the data store!

~~~
TeMPOraL
Is there any good introduction to using / working with it? I tried to check it
out once, a year or two ago, and I couldn't figure out how to bite it.

~~~
icebraining
If you just want to try it out, I recommend the online demo[1], plus the
official user documentation[2]. If you want to develop modules on top of it,
there's technical documentation[3], which also explains how to install it
locally.

A tip: visit the Settings menu, and then on the Implementation widget, you
have a few step-by-step wizards for setting up the database.

There also two PacktPub books, one for functional learning[4], and another for
development[5], but although the latter was written by a colleague, I've never
read either, as they came too late :)

[1] [https://demo.odoo.com/](https://demo.odoo.com/)

[2]
[https://www.odoo.com/documentation/user/9.0/](https://www.odoo.com/documentation/user/9.0/)

[3]
[https://www.odoo.com/documentation/9.0/index.html](https://www.odoo.com/documentation/9.0/index.html)

[4] [https://www.packtpub.com/big-data-and-business-
intelligence/...](https://www.packtpub.com/big-data-and-business-
intelligence/working-odoo)

[5] [https://www.packtpub.com/big-data-and-business-
intelligence/...](https://www.packtpub.com/big-data-and-business-
intelligence/odoo-development-essentials)

~~~
TeMPOraL
Thanks a lot! I'll check it out again!

~~~
icebraining
No problem. Feel free to email me at hn@andreparames.com if you have any
questions or problems, I can't say I have all the answers, but I might be able
to help :)

------
runn1ng
The talk itself (not a final processed version, just a "dump" of the live
cast)

[https://streaming.media.ccc.de/32c3/relive/7561/](https://streaming.media.ccc.de/32c3/relive/7561/)

~~~
noir_lord
Thanks for the link, this is one of the best talks I've watched in a long
time.

EDIT: WTH, some random woman out the audience accuses his talk of been racist,
this is a guy who travelled into an ebola zone, used local programmers, helped
bootstrap an ERP/SMS payments system during one of the worst ebole outbreaks
in history in less than 6 weeks and is continuing to work with the locals to
ensure the system stays in place...and she accuses him of been _racist_ , ffs!

~~~
staticvar
Maybe when Tan was mentioning the challenges, like literacy rate, she
interpreted his blunt description as implying that it is this way because of
the race of the people who live there?

~~~
noir_lord
That's a hell of a reach though and makes her even stranger.

He didn't say anything over than the facts about the literacy rate, since when
are pure facts without connotation racist.

I hope it wasn't that.

------
pella
and for logistic -Crowdsourced Open Map Data

"2014 West Africa Ebola Response is an activation of the Humanitarian OSM Team
to provide base-map data to assist the response to this disease outbreak."

[http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/2014_West_Africa_Ebola_Re...](http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/2014_West_Africa_Ebola_Response)
( see "Media coverage" )

\--

Donate to HOT( Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team) today :
[https://donate.hotosm.org/](https://donate.hotosm.org/)

"The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team [HOT] applies the principles of open
source and open data sharing for humanitarian response and economic
development."

Projects:
[https://hotosm.org/projects/ongoing](https://hotosm.org/projects/ongoing)

------
strommen
I'm imagining sorting "kilograms of bank notes" in Sierra Leone during the
midst of the Ebola outbreak. Yikes.

I hope they had some good physical security (but I suspect that they
didn't...)

~~~
meric
If they were freshly printed from the central bank it would be more
palatable...

~~~
morgante
Or, at the very least, more barrable.

