Data sources
Where each number comes from, how often we check, and what happens before anything is published.
Three kinds of source
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Structured official dataTier A
Machine-readable datasets from WHO and national health authorities. Imported automatically every hour.
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Official reportsTier B
Bulletins and press releases from Africa CDC, WHO AFRO and the Kenya Ministry of Health. Any figures in them are checked by a reviewer before they are published.
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News signalsTier C
Media reports that often arrive first. They are shown as headlines only and never counted as case figures.
Sources we monitor
| Source | Tier | What we use it for | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| WHO Disease Outbreak News | Tier A | Official outbreak declarations and situation summaries | Hourly |
| OCHA / INRB data (HDX) | Tier A | Daily national case and death counts for DR Congo | Every 6 hours |
| Africa CDC | Tier B | Continental statements and situation reports | Every 2 hours |
| WHO Regional Office for Africa | Tier B | Regional updates and weekly bulletins | Every 2 hours |
| Ministry of Health, Kenya | Tier B | National announcements, press releases and figures for Kenya | Every 30 minutes |
| News publishers (RSS) | Tier C | Headlines only, from Capital FM, The Standard, KBC, Radio Okapi, Actualite.cd, Nile Post, KT Press, Eye Radio, Daily News, Lusaka Times, Iwacu, Corbeau News, UN News, BBC, BBC Swahili, DW Kiswahili, Al Jazeera and CIDRAP | Every hour |
How figures are verified
Automatic collection. Our servers check each source on a schedule, from every 30 minutes to every 6 hours. Every item keeps a link back to its original document.
Extraction. When a report states case numbers, the system extracts them along with the exact sentence they came from.
Human review. A reviewer compares the extracted numbers with the source before they are confirmed. Figures entered by hand need a second reviewer once a second reviewer is available.
Provisional figures. Figures from WHO Disease Outbreak News are published straight away, labelled "Provisional", when they pass strict checks: an explicit "as of" date, a single country, and no drop or implausible jump from the previous figure. Anything else waits for a reviewer.
Cumulative figures. Numbers are cumulative totals as of the report date. Deaths include confirmed and probable cases unless the source says otherwise.
Corrections. If a source revises its figures, we update them and keep an audit trail.