Frank Tanser

Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization

Geographical information system (GIS) technology is increasingly being used in many areas of health care research and planning.1 Applications range from the study of “classic” infectious diseases such as malaria, schistosomiasis, and tuberculosis, to cancers such as leukemia.

In this paper, Frank Tanser reviews work that he has done examining the uses of GIS for understanding health care services and needs in a rural health District in South Africa, and puts those findings in the larger context of how GIS is now being used for management of health services in developing countries, especially those in Africa.