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Stats SA has launched an online panel called South Africa’s Covid-19 Vulnerability Index, which tracks areas of the country that are likely to be most susceptible to the coronavirus.
The dashboard was developed as a way to track vulnerability locally across the country, using the smallest population data available, combined with known risk factors associated with Covid-19.
The index uses data from the 2011 Census, along with eight indicators related to workforce activity, access to the media, domestic services, overcrowding, multigenerational status, age, and chronic diseases to reflect the state of vulnerability of citizens to the Covid-19 virus and where are these people. They are located.
“Covid-19 disproportionately affects older people and people with underlying health problems, and the population at risk includes people exposed to greater social and health vulnerability,” said Stats SA.
These vulnerabilities are present in data and include those that:
- They are poor or live in deprived conditions that affect health and sanitation;
- Living in crowded areas or informal settlements that impact social distancing; and
- Living in multigenerational households and large extended families in a single home.
“The index aims to identify these populations that are at multiple risk to identify areas where the population is considered most vulnerable to Covid-19,” StatsSA said.
Using these metrics, Stats SA has compiled a ‘vulnerability index score’, which is calculated as the number of vulnerable people in a region multiplied by intensity (the number of vulnerabilities they share).
The final score is expressed in a classification scaled from 0 to 5, with 5 being the most vulnerable and 0 being the least.
Stats SA said that the use of data from the 2011 Census allows the index to be mapped to the smallest area possible, that is, an enumeration area (EA), which is the smallest geographical area in which the country is divided. for census purposes and contains between 100 to 250 households.
Nine provincial boards were developed and the index can be consulted at the level of place name and municipality.
“The Vindex can serve as a tool to help with planning for specific responses, as it highlights the areas that are vulnerable to Covid as defined by the range and the indicators that are most prevalent. Vindex can also serve as a means of evidence-based pandemic management planning to provide the best and most feasible location-focused response, ”he said.
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