FASSSTER

FASSSTER is a now casting and forecasting tool that supports creation of policies and guidelines in the management of a disease outbreak/pandemic.

Past and Current Partners

Department of Sciencec and Technology, PhilippinesDepartment of Health, Philippines

Active Countries
Philippines
Thematic area(s)
Health
Technology
SaaS implemented in php, laravel, and javascript
Organisation Name
UNDP Philippines
READ MORE ON THEIR WEBSITE

The Problem

Disease surveillance has played a significant role worldwide because of the COVID-19 pandemic. One major lesson learned by all countries is that access to good quality data is necessary for informed anticipatory action. Specifically, operational dashboards that provide daily now casting and forecasting tools have been helpful in setting policies and guidelines in the management of the pandemic. Over the past 2.5 years, the FASSSTER platform has served the Philippine government agencies and local government agencies with access to a scenario-based COVID-19 disease surveillance and modeling tool, providing users with the ability to project COVID-19 cases, deaths, and recoveries up to 3 months into the future. With more data coming in, the platform had to be reconfigured so that it could accommodate running more data. Alongside more data, the model had to be reconfigured to accommodate interventions including community quarantine, mobility, public health standards, and vaccination coverage. Our proposal is to submit a FASSSTER lite instance as a digital public good that can be scaled in other country contexts, providing users with the ability to project cases of different infectious diseases to help inform anticipatory action. In particular, these diseases will be TB, malaria, and dengue, in addition to COVID-19.

The Solution

FASSSTER is a now casting and forecasting tool that supports creation of policies and guidelines in the management of a disease outbreak/pandemic.Tanod COVID is an optional extension solution for data collectionand consolidation of data from local governments to a national health agency.

How it works?

  • Step 1: Epidemiology Team uploads data using excel template provided by FASSSTER.
  • Step 2: FASSSTER scans file for errors and alerts user.
  • Step 3: User makes adjustments and uploads.
  • Step 4: User toggles switch to local data and FASSSTER generates output using local data.
Digital X Solution FASSSTER

Bridging the digital divide

FASSSTER has a file upload feature that can be used by local government units who have issues with real time data transfer. A template is provided so that there will be no issues in data standards. This feature makes it accessible for governments still building their data capacity. The platform generates relevant analytical tools as well as projection tools necessary to make decisions on how to manage pandemic in the local setting.

Impact and highlights

Helped the IATF prevent up to 3.5 million projected infections in 2020. Achieved a 10-fold reduction in actual cases reached during the Delta surge peak in September 2021. The actual number was 52,567 cases compared to a projected worst-case scenario of 510,268. cases. Supported local governments also make decisions on localized lockdowns. Facilitated localised quarantine protocols implemented by local governments. Baguio city has used the system for regional transboundary analysis at the regional level, while others, such as Pasig city, used the analysis to conduct focused contact tracing and coordination for villages experiencing surges which previously would have not been spotted, saving approximately 1,000 COVID infections in the city during the course of a 6-week FASSSTER mentoring programme.

Plans for expansion

Open to support other countries that could use this solution