*Join us for Change Seminar next Tuesday 11/19!* *When*: Tuesday 11/19, 12pm-1pm *Where*: CSE2-271 *Who: *Richard Anderson, University of Washington *Title: *Mapping the Global Immunization Cold Chain *Abstract:* Vaccines are one of the most important public health interventions ever invented, saving millions of lives every year. The effectiveness of immunization depends on keeping vaccines at appropriate temperatures through a network of storage facilities referred to as the immunization cold chain. However, there is uncertainty about the status of the immunization cold chain in many countries, with basic questions such as “what is the distribution and condition of vaccine refrigerators?” unanswered. This talk will address two fundamental issues: how can accurate information be collected about the global immunization cold chain, and how can this information be made available to global and country stakeholders who are working to strengthen immunization systems. Two complementary University of Washington projects will be presented: The Cold Chain Mapper and ODK-X Cold Chain Data Collection Application. The Cold Chain Mapper is a visualization system that takes cold chain inventory information and presents it for a global audience. The Cold Chain Data Collection Application is built on the ODK-X data management platform and is being deployed in multiple countries including DRC, Pakistan, and Uganda to support modernization of the vaccine cold chain. This talk will emphasize how ideas coming from this work can be scaled to a global system. *Bio:* Richard Anderson is a Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, where he has been on the faculty since 1986, with brief leaves to Indian Institute of Science, Microsoft Research, and PATH. His research has focused on computing for the developing world since 2005, when he became involved with the Digital Study Hall project. In 2009, Richard spent a sabbatical year working with the Digital Health Solutions group at PATH, a global health NGO based in Seattle. This opportunity allowed him to increase his efforts on applying computing technologies to challenges in global health. While working with PATH, he co-founded the Projecting Health project, which uses the Community-Led Video Education model to promote healthy practices in rural areas in India. Now back at the University of Washington, his research interests in ICTD include technologies for behavior change communication, improving tools to support the use of data in strengthening health systems, and digital financial services.