DALY Map Frequenly Asked Questions

Q.                What is a DALY map?

A.                 A ‘DALY map’ provides a snapshot of the burden of disease by country. It is a table that shows how many and where DALYs are being lost in your country, by health condition, by age and by gender. PSI has extrapolated from the most recent and best available data to get current, country-specific estimates of burden of disease that would be more usable by our programs.

Q.                Where does this data come from?

A.                 It is mostly derived from the Disease Control Priorities Project II (DCP2), whose 2006 report estimated the burden of disease by region as of 2001. (The DCP2 is a joint effort of a number of agencies, including the NIH, World Bank and others.  )  PSI then allocated the DALYs to each country and updated the data to 2006 based on population growth stats from the Population Reference Bureau (PRB).  

Q.                Is this data really country specific?

A.                 Because data sources for specific countries can be sparse, DCP2 lumps countries into regions.  Much of the country level data you see here is extrapolated from regional data. However, we improved this edition of the maps by including country-specific HIV prevalence data from the PRB. Estimates of the malaria burden of disease in each country were improved with the help of an article by John W. Snow, et al, published in the journal Nature in March 2005 which assigns each country to a category ranging from highly endemic malaria to zero malaria, and malaria burden was then estimated accordingly. 

Q.                So how should I use the map?

A.                 To identify where the biggest health problems lie in a country.  Malaria is a huge problem for young children in Africa, for example, but not so much in Asia.  Diarrheal disease DALYs are very heavily clustered amongst the under-5s (which we already knew, but we hope this shows the extent of differences and reinforces the message of targeting.)  But there are also surprises in the data which we hope you will find enlightening, such as how serious the problem of measles remains, and the devastation of respiratory infections.

Also, these statistics form the basis of our DALY calculations; the heavier the DALY weight in a disease area, the more likely you will be well-rewarded for concentrating on that area.  But, bear in mind, you should also consider how well you can address a particular disease and how much it will take to do so.  Diarrhea is a huge problem, granted, but because nearly every child suffers from it and only a small proportion go on to die, you have to cover enormous numbers of people to get a significant return.  Triangulating between the map and the DALY co-efficients for products (already provided to you) should help you work out the DALY-maximizing options for your country.

Q.                Does the map then tell one how to go about programming?

A.                 Not as such.  You might notice for instance that road deaths are a big problem in a country.  But, critically, you don’t know whether that is due to poor infrastructure, a habit of speeding, no seat belts, drink-driving or something else.  So, you don’t instantly know how to solve that particular problem.  That said, DALYs calculations can be made for any given intervention no matter the health area based on literature reviews; if you do come up with innovative (or not-so-innovative) solutions to the health problems listed on the map, you will be able to claim DALYs for them.

Q.                Where is Family Planning on the map?

A.                 Maternal and Perinatal Conditions include the DALYs lost due to unhealthy pregnancies and deliveries.