Supporting responses to climate-sensitive diseases
Interagency efforts are engaging citizens in forecasting and observation of mosquito threats.
Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) is an international science and education program that provides students and the public worldwide with the opportunity to participate in data collection and the scientific process and contribute meaningfully to our understanding of the Earth system and global environment. In 2017, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) partnered with NASA to leverage GLOBE in engaging hard-to-reach populations in targeted Zika-affected countries to better track and control mosquitoes, combat Zika transmission, eliminate breeding sites, and make crowd-sourced data available to global partners. GLOBE program participants use a mobile phone app, low-cost lens attachments, and the scientific training they receive in the program to identify the types of mosquitoes in their communities, safely collect samples, and upload photos and data via a global map tracker to a centralized NASA database. The project currently runs through September 2019 and aims to build sustainable networks of schools, organizations, and public health officials in each Zika-affected region to improve disease tracking and control in focus countries and make the crowdsourced data available for use by international partners.

A participant using the GLOBE Observer app on their mobile device examines a magnified mosquito larva to determine if it is a disease-carrying species. Source: Department of State.