Connecting DHIS2 with climate, water, sanitation, and environmental health data

A disease curve shows that cases are rising. It does not show why, or what to do next. Rainfall, floods, heat, water supply, and sanitation all affect health. DHIS2 provides the health data. mWater and Solstice add what is happening on the ground, and organize the response.

Build on DHIS2 climate and health work

DHIS2 already supports climate, weather, and Earth-observation data for health analysis, including work on malaria, dengue, cholera, and diarrheal disease. Where a ministry runs that analysis in DHIS2, keep it there. mWater and Solstice add local evidence: which source failed, which settlement flooded, which facility lacks water, which test exceeded a threshold, who investigated, and whether the response was completed. They also put environmental data next to each site, so a signal can be turned into a visit.

Environmental data at every site

• Rainfall, drought, vegetation, flood risk, and WorldPop population layers are ready to use on maps, with a time slider for earlier snapshots. Browse them on the Raster Layers page.
• An Environmental Data Calculation reads those layers at each facility, water source, or settlement, at a point or within a set distance, for the latest date or a chosen one. Teams can then rank facilities by flood exposure or the population they serve, and filter, map, and assign work on the result.
• The Integrator brings in national, partner, and sensor data on a schedule, DHIS2 included. Its AI assistant writes the integration from a plain description of the source.
• The AI dashboard designer drafts a dashboard from a description of what you need, combining health, environmental, and service data in one view.
• Horizon, our free flood and rainfall awareness app, shows anyone where heavy rain and flooding are expected.

Three kinds of information

Example: diarrheal disease after a flood

1. Health surveillance shows an unusual rise in cases.
2. The team looks at rainfall, flooded areas, settlements affected, and water supplies that are down.
3. Inspectors check the most important water sources, toilets, health facilities, and temporary water points.
4. The results guide what happens next: public warnings, testing, treatment, emergency water, repairs, or further investigation.
5. Managers track each action until it is confirmed done, and keep the evidence for review.

These links between weather and disease help decide where to look first. They do not prove the cause. That needs epidemiologists.

Questions to answer before you start

• Are health, climate, and facility data available for the same areas?
• Do reporting periods, observation dates, and forecasts line up?
• Are units, uncertainty, and missing values kept?
• Which institution checks each dataset and can correct it?
• Could combining datasets identify individuals, households, or vulnerable communities?
• What level of risk triggers an alert, who receives it, and what should they do?

Where this helps

• Planning health facilities that can cope with floods, drought, and heat.
• Cholera preparedness, water quality testing, and coordinating the response.
• Assessing flood and cyclone damage to health and water services.
• Keeping essential services running through drought.
• Sending inspectors first to the places where risk looks highest.
• Checking afterward whether the response happened in time.

Plan for action

An alert is only useful if a named person receives it, can investigate, has the means to act, and records what they did. Plan who does what after an alert at the same time as you plan the analysis.

Sources and further reading

See the official DHIS2 pages on Climate & Health and climate data integration, along with your national surveillance, WASH, and data protection standards. Record which datasets and versions each analysis used.

Planning a health, WASH, or environmental information system? Contact info@solstice.world and we will help you plan it.