ANUBiH: Geoportal Project Prepared for Control and Prevention of COVID-19 Spread

(Patria) - The Committee for Microbiology and Related Disciplines of the Department of Medical Sciences of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, led by academician Mirsada Hukić, has prepared the Geoportal project for monitoring, prevention, and coordination of the prevention of the spread of the COVID-19 virus - Epidemiological Location-Intelligence System (Geoportal), following the Decision of the Council of Ministers of BiH on declaring a state of natural and other disaster in the territory of BiH due to the pandemic of this virus.

- The goal of this project is to control and prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Geoportal will be particularly useful for civil protection headquarters, epidemiological services, public health institutes, clinicians, and government representatives in BiH - it was announced from the Academy of Sciences and Arts (ANU) of BiH.

For the realization of the project, academician Mirsada Hukić has received special power of attorney to represent ANUBiH in contact with state bodies, institutions, business companies, and other persons who will be partners, participants, or users of the project.

The Geoportal will, among other things, contain epidemiological statistical data, spatial information, and interactive maps with the location and coded data of isolated, tested, and hospitalized persons, locations of registered persons with developmental disabilities, aid plans for vulnerable persons, as well as numerous other significant information and data that can contribute to adequate monitoring of the spread of the coronavirus and its suppression.

ANUBiH has sent an official letter to the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina with an invitation to cooperate and participate in the project. Letters were sent to the Presidency of BiH, the Council of Ministers of BiH, the Ministry of Security of BiH, and the Coordination Body for Protection and Rescue of People and Material Goods from Natural and Other Disasters in BiH.

- The first to support the realization of the project in verbal contact with academician Mirsada Hukić and provide assistance is the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Šefik Džaferović. The Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina hopes that other competent institutions will follow the example of the Chairman of the Presidency of BiH - it is stated in the announcement from that academy.

The project team has already started the first activities to develop the project as soon as possible and to respond to its purpose at full capacity.

Given that this is a non-commercial project, the BiH company GAUSS immediately joined its realization on the same basis, providing its intellectual and material resources, the Institute for Biomedical Diagnostics and Testing "NALAZ" which offered itself for the microbiological and epidemiological aspect of project development, BH Telecom, thanks to whom server space was provided, the Agency for Statistics of BiH which promptly provided the requested data (detailed age and gender structure for all settlements in BiH according to the 2013 census).

- Thanks to the support of the Chairman of the Presidency of BiH and the assistance of all the aforementioned entities, in accordance with the project plan, an appropriate database has been established which will be supplemented with official epidemiological data as soon as they are obtained - it is stated at the end of the announcement from the Academy of Sciences and Arts of BiH.