DevInfo in Action stories are intended to highlight usage of DevInfo around the globe, where it has made a difference. We trust that these stories will inspire, challenge and encourage you to consider fresh ways to use DevInfo to further human development. |
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Lao PDR: "A Powerful Tool to Support Education Data" (7 March 2013)
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Lao EduInfo was launched by the Ministry of Education and Sports of Lao on February 25, 2013. EduInfo is a tool for organizing, storing and presenting data in a uniform way to facilitate data sharing at country, province and district level. |
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DevInfo 7 User Highlight: Gaurav K. Pandey (21 February 2013)
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Mr. Gaurav K. Pandey has been using DevInfo in his work as a Statistical Investigator for the Directorate of Census Operations in Goa, India. In this article, he shares his map outputs with the DevInfo global community. |
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Africa: Solving the "data blank" problem in education (21 February 2013)
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In order to keep track of key education performance indicators and to assess progress achieved in various regions, the Association for the Development of Education in Africa's Working Group on Education Management and Policy Support created the African Union's (AU) Outlook on Education database, built on DevInfo technology. |
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OpenEMIS to Collect and Report Data on Education (20 February 2013)
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OpenEMIS is a generic and open source Education Management Information System (EMIS) designed to collect and report data on education systems. This sector-wide tool, coordinated by UNESCO, is designed to strengthen statistical information on education with an agile and cost-effective EMIS that can be easily adapted to the needs of information producers and users. |
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Using DevInfo to Track Progress at the Municipal Level in Serbia (4 February 2013)
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As part of a shared commitment to strengthen evidence-based policy making in Serbia, UNICEF and the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (SORS) launched a new DevInfo database in December containing 142 socio-economic indicators for 197 municipalities and 4 cities in Serbia. |
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One-stop-shop databases for Uganda's districts (26 December 2012)
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Prioritizing results-based policy design is challenging, even for the most seasoned bureaucrats, not least because of the administrative and financial burden of harmonizing data sets, collecting data, and training needed on the administration and use of information. |
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Using DevInfo to Support Sustainable Urban Development in Global Cities (19 December 2012)
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Between 2011 and 2050, the world population living in urban areas is expected to increase by 2.6 billion, growing from 3.6 billion in 2011 to 6.3 billion individuals1. These demographic changes will no doubt have a fundamental impact on socio-economic aspects of everyday life, including employment, housing, and health. |
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Pakistan: A “historical survey” to enable data-driven decisions (18 December 2012)
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Punjab State is often referred to as the socio-economic hub of Pakistan and home to over half of the country’s total population. Throughout the 1990s and into the new millennium, as government organizations in Pakistan worked hard to develop programs to spur economic growth, there was no reliable way to qualify and quantify that progress. |
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Using DevInfo to Help Solve "One of the World's Worst Environmental Disasters" (04 December 2012)
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After visiting Uzbekistan in 2010, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon called the shrinking of the Aral Sea (a lake in in one of Uzbekistan’s most economically vulnerable regions, Karakalpakstan) “one of the worst environmental disasters of the world,” referring to the impact it would have on human security in the region. |
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Data from the Honduras Human Development Report available online for the first time (26 October 2012)
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On August 22, the eighth National Development Report for Honduras (NDRH) was launched in the city of Tegucigalpa before an audience of over 900 development professionals. The report, titled “Reducing Inequality: An Urgent Challenge," analyzes economic and social inequity in Honduras, a challenge that the country must address now to achieve a higher level of human development in the future. |
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Ghana and United States: Using DevInfo in the Classroom (Teacher Edition) (16 October 2012)
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While summer is often synonymous with relaxation, millions of graduate students pack their bags each year and travel to developing nations in order to conduct field research projects. These trips offer rich opportunities for future development actors to get better acquainted with their area of interest and to add a human dimension to topics discussed earlier in their classrooms. |
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Sub-Saharan Africa: Graduate students using DevInfo for their on-field research (03 October 2012)
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While summer is often synonymous with relaxation, millions of graduate students pack their bags each year and travel to developing nations in order to conduct field research projects. These trips offer rich opportunities for future development actors to get better acquainted with their area of interest and to add a human dimension to topics discussed earlier in their classrooms. |
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Nigeria's Champion for Data-Driven Decision Making (07 September 2012)
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Today, Nigeria is in the midst of implementing its Vision 2020, one of Africa’s most ambitious national development plans. Designed to grow Nigeria into one of the world’s 20 largest economies by 2020, this plan outlines hundreds of goals and targets for government agencies. |
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Nepal: Using DevInfo to Bolster Food Security (28 March 2012)
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The Government of Nepal sees food sovereignty as a basic human right and is giving issues of food security high priority in its public programmes. This policy emphasis arose when the food security situation started deteriorating in parts of the country. For example, Nepal has recently experienced the impacts of rising food prices as well as recurrent episodes of droughts (2006-2009). |
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Timor-Leste: Using CensusInfo for Innovative Census Dissemination and Social Inclusion (27 March 2012)
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In the relatively new nation of Timor-Leste, government efforts to promote open information and local participation are crucial to fostering social cohesion and democratic governance. As such, the country’s 2010 national census represented more than just an exercise in collecting national statistics: it provided the nation with a vital resource for good governance. |
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Colombia: Using DevInfo to Facilitate Municipal Data Management
(20 March 2012)
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Local government officials in the municipality of Marinilla, Antioquia department (located about 50 kilometers away from Antioquia’s capital, Medellin) had spent several years searching for a municipal planning software tool that could help them organize and manage the large volumes of data streaming in from the municipality’s 35 urban zones and 34 rural zones. |
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Occupied Palestinian Territory: Using DevInfo to Provide Data for Decision-Making (19 January 2012)
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National statistical organizations often wrestle with how best to fulfil multiple mandates: collecting, compiling, validating and disseminating statistical data; building capacity in statistical literacy for a diverse end user base; and ensuring that national demographic and socio-economic data is being used effectively to support policy decision-making. |
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Uzbekistan: Extending the Use of DevInfo to Foster Human Development Awareness(17 January 2012)
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Since 1990 the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been publishing Human Development Reports at the global, regional and national levels, with the purpose of raising awareness about human development around the world. These independently-prepared reports place human development at the center of the national political agenda, and serve as a key policy tool to identify inequities, measure progress, and mobilize support for positive change. |
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Asia: Using CensusInfo to Disseminate Census Data (12 January 2012)
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With many countries in Asia having recently completed or in the process of completing their census data collection as part of the 2010 global round of censuses, officials are now grappling with the critical issue of how best to disseminate the mounds of tabulated data. |
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Bolivia: Using DevInfo to Help Monitor Rural Water and Sanitation Programmes (10 January 2012)
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To support the Government of Bolivia’s efforts in increasing access to safe drinking water, basic sanitation and improved hygiene (WASH) for all citizens, the Water and Environmental (WES) section of UNICEF Bolivia has focused on WASH interventions in rural communities dispersed across 56 Bolivian municipalities. |
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Dubai: Using DevInfo to Monitor the Emirate's Strategic Plan
(22 December 2011)
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Dubai, one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) located at the southeastern end of the Arabian Gulf, has a thriving population of nearly 2 million people. With an economy initially built on trade and business, Dubai has significantly diversified over the past decade, emerging as an international business and tourist hub. |
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Bhutan: Using DevInfo for Emergency Preparedness (06 December 2011)
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On 21 September 2009, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck the Himalayan nation of Bhutan, leaving an estimated 7,290 citizens without adequate shelter and causing an estimated US $52 million in overall damage. |
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Panama: Using DevInfo to Strengthen UNDAF Implementation
(9 November 2011)
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When Carlos Acosta, Coordination Officer, Office of the UN Resident Coordinator - Panama, joined the country task force to monitor the current Panama UNDAF 2007-2011, he quickly realized that the task set before him was nearly impossible. |
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Jamaica: Using CME Info to Train Budding Demographers
(19 October 2011)
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University students taking population studies courses at the University of West Indies (UWI), Mona, Jamaica campus can soon look forward to a new online tool to train them in how to prepare demographic projections. |
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Dominican Republic: Using DevInfo in Many Ways to Strengthen Data Management (5 October 2011)
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Editor’s note: The Caribbean island nation of Dominican Republic is actively forging ahead with a number of DevInfo projects, involving a diverse array of implementing agencies. In this interview, Nelson Medina, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, UNICEF Dominican Republic, shares highlights on past, present and future DevInfo initiatives within the country. |
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Bhutan: Using DevInfo to Promote Access to Development Data
(27 September 2011)
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In recent years the Kingdom of Bhutan has made great strides in improving the lives of its people, in keeping with its core development philosophy of maximizing Gross National Happiness. In fact, UNICEF Bhutan officials recently announced that the country is well on track to meeting most of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 impressive progress for the tiny country nestled in the eastern Himalayas. |
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South Sudan: Using DevInfo to Establish Foundations for Data Management (22 September 2011)
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The world’s newest nation - South Sudan - gained independence on 9 July 2011, becoming the 193rd member state of the United Nations. The country’s excitement and jubilation over a long-awaited new beginning are tempered by the reality of significant challenges ahead in meeting the needs of more than 8 million citizens emerging from a season of historic destruction, displacement and neglect. |
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Cambodia: Using DevInfo to Foster Efficient Data Exchange
(20 September 2011)
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Rebuilding from decades of civil war, Cambodia has witnessed rapid progress in both its economy and human development. As a key step to furthering this momentum, the Ministry of Planning (MoP) of the Royal Government of Cambodia has developed and implemented a series of National Strategic Development Plans (NSDP) |
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Brazil: Using DevInfo to Support Indicator-Based Training and Analysis
(14 September 2011)
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A statistician with the Health Department in Salvador (the largest city on Brazil's northeast coast and the capital of Bahia state), Jessidenes Leal had devoted four years to developing a set of indicators to track the performance and quality of the state's health information system. |
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CrimeInfo: Using DevInfo to Fight Crime (7 September 2011)
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With crime and corruption being one of the chief obstacles to human development progress worldwide, it is little wonder that fighting crime has become a priority for many developing nations, including India. |
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Samoa: Using DevInfo to Foster Youth Development (31 August 2011)
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In the Pacific Island nation of Samoa, the country's youth generally face the same challenges as their global counterparts in the areas of education, employment and relationships. However, Samoa's geographic location renders the nation's young people particularly vulnerable to additional stresses shared by citizens of other small island developing states. |
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Djibouti: Using DevInfo to Strengthen National Statistical Data Management (25 August 2011)
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In the midst of the worst drought to afflict the Horn of Africa in 60 years, officials in Djibouti struggle to respond to the growing needs. As of late July 2011, the UN estimated that the number of drought-affected refugees in Djibouti had exceeded 18,000, with another 165,000 people in urgent need of food assistance. |
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Liberia: Using DevInfo to Further Post-Conflict Recovery
(16 August 2011)
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Situated on the west coast of Africa, the Republic of Liberia continues to recover from the effects of two civil wars spread out over fourteen years. A nation still in the midst of post-conflict recovery, Liberia faces numerous challenges in rebuilding its devastated country. |
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India: Using CensusInfo Technology to Share Census Data
(10 August 2011)
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The Government of India recently carried out the nation's 15th census, the largest administrative exercise in the world's second most populous nation. To accomplish this massive feat, an army of 2.7 million census workers fanned out across 35 States and Union Territories, 640 districts and over 600,000 villages in February 2011, going door to door with census forms in any of 16 national languages. |
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Using CensusInfo Technology for Census Dissemination in Africa
(3 August 2011)
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One of the major lessons learned from the 2000 round of the World Population and Housing Census Programme, during which 57% of Africa’s population was enumerated, points to the necessity of taking full advantage of the data collected through censuses via appropriate dissemination and analysis mechanisms. |
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Rwanda: Using DevInfo to Combat Malnutrition (28 July 2011)
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For the last two decades, malnutrition has persisted as a significant public health problem in Rwanda, contributing to high infant and child mortality rates across the country.
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Moldova: Using DevInfo to Prepare Advocacy Maps (26 July 2011)
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On 8 December 2010 at UNICEF Headquarters in New York City, the UNICEF Moldova Representative shared a presentation titled, “Where on Earth is Moldova: Equity and Child Rights.” The audience was quite varied and included the Deputy Executive Director, senior Programme and Communication colleagues, fundraising staff, interns and administration staff.
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Moldova: Using DevInfo to Tackle Rural Deprivation (21 July 2011)
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In recent years, poverty in Moldova has declined in urban areas while it has increased in rural regions. This troubling trend was highlighted in the Second Millennium Development Goals Report for the Republic of Moldova (2010), which attributed much of the cause to climate-related factors negatively affecting agricultural yields over multiple years.
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Moldova: Using DevInfo to Monitor MDGs (19 July 2011)
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Sandwiched in between Ukraine and Romania, the Republic of Moldova has struggled economically since its independence in 1991. Classified by the European Parliament in 2009 as the continent's poorest country, Moldova has been working with the support of various aid partners to advance the nation's human development, with the eventual aim of joining the European Union.
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Egypt: Using CensusInfo to Disseminate Census Data (13 July 2011)
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Based on evidence from papyrus manuscripts and Pharaonic temple monuments, Egypt was likely one of the first countries in the world to carry out a census - purportedly in 3340BC. The country undertook its first modern census in 1882, with its most recent one occurring in 2006.
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Cambodia: Using DevInfo to Monitor the UNDAF (6 July 2011)
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This week’s edition focuses on a new online monitoring tool - UNDAF Info - which has been designed to help UN Country Teams (UNCT) track joint progress towards the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). Built on DevInfo database technology, UNDAF Info provides timely and easy access to UNDAF monitoring and evaluation data in a single online dashboard.
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Bihar, India: Using DevInfo to Fight Polio (28 June 2011)
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In November 2010, we published a DevInfo in Action story titled, "India: Using DevInfo to Eradicate Polio". We continue this series here with a follow-up interview with Dr. Saumya Anand, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, UNICEF Bihar (Polio Division), and Mr. Bijendra Kumar, Data Manager, Social Mobilisation Network, UNICEF Bihar, who share lessons learned and best practices for using DevInfo in the ongoing fight against polio in the North Indian state of Bihar.
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Using DevInfo to Unveil Child Mortality Estimates (17 March 2011)
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Child mortality ranks as one of the most recognized indicators of human development worldwide, serving as a benchmark in assessing a country's overall progress towards development.
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East Asia and the Pacific: Using DevInfo to Support Gender Equality in Education (10 March 2011)
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When 10-year-old Mai and her brother Eu completed the second grade in their small community of Ban Xai, XiengKhuang province, Lao PDR, they weren't sure if they would be able to study further. The nearest school offering Grade 3 was eight kilometers away, across hilly and muddy trails that would require at least an hour of travel.
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Jordan: Using DevInfo to Monitor National Living Standards
(3 February 2011)
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By most measures, the country of Jordan is faring well. The 2010 Human Development Report categorized it in the list of "high human development" countries. A recent study issued by the country's Economic and Social Council declared that in 2008, the middle class comprised 41 percent of the country's population.
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Brazil: Using DevInfo to Publicize Metropolitan Data (3 December 2010)
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True to its name, the city of Campinas was formerly blanketed by thick grass fields covering gently rolling hills.?Since then, Campinas (the name actually means "grass fields" in Portuguese) has grown to become the tenth richest city in Brazil and a leading center for research, academia and high-tech industries - giving rise to the city's new moniker as the "Silicon Valley of Brazil."
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Serbia: Using DevInfo to Advocate for Children at the Local Level
(19 November 2010)
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Recent progress in realizing the fulfillment of child rights in Serbia - particularly for the more vulnerable groups - can be credited in part to the introduction of DevInfo use at the municipal level, through monitoring the Local Plans of Action for children.
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India: Using DevInfo to Eradicate Polio (12 November 2010)
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In the heartland of the North Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and
Bihar - Ground Zero of the global campaign to eradicate polio from the planet - the Government of India struggles to win the battle.
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Egypt: Spurring Better Governance through Competition
(22 October 2010)
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UNICEF Egypt and its partner IDSC (Information and Decision Support Center for the Cabinet of Ministries) had already trained a critical mass of key staff across government ministries on how to use DevInfo.
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Serbia: The Daily News Delivers Maps Using DevInfo (15 October 2010)
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Blic, one of the highest circulation daily newspapers in Serbia, had come up with a great journalistic idea: an eight-day series of articles (small encyclopaedia) under the theme, "All about Serbia."
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Brazil: Using DevInfo to Boost Public Welfare Funding
(28 September 2010)
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Armed with little more than a DevInfo database, a weighing scale and a generous dose of civic passion, Gilson Trindade was able to dramatically boost public funding for low-income families in his city.
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