About COVID-19 Myanmar Project
Initiated by Dr. Nyein Chan Ko Ko in early 2020, this community-driven initiative emerged as Myanmar's first comprehensive COVID-19 tracking dashboard. Inspired by Johns Hopkins University's coronavirus dashboard, the project started as an individual effort but quickly grew into a collaborative community project that would not have been possible without the dedicated support of volunteers who contributed data, verified information, and maintained the system.
What began as a simple Google spreadsheet tracking Myanmar's first suspected case on January 31, 2020, evolved into a sophisticated dashboard through the collective efforts of 22+ volunteers. This community collaboration made it an essential resource for researchers, developers, and the public throughout the pandemic, providing detailed case data when official sources only offered cumulative numbers.
Project Timeline
First awareness of coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China. Initially didn't receive much attention as it wasn't the first outbreak news.
Johns Hopkins University announced first coronavirus dashboard. This inspired the idea to create a similar tracking system for Myanmar before the pandemic reached the country.
First version of dashboard created with Google Data Studio. A simple one-page dashboard with basic metrics.
Myanmar announced first suspected case. Project started Google spreadsheet data collection with date, age, sex, location, hospital, and reference links.
Dashboard publicly launched at covidmyanmar.com and m.covidmyanmar.com for mobile. Featured comprehensive filtering options not available elsewhere.
Ministry released official ArcGIS dashboard 5 days after this project launched. However, it lacked the filtering capabilities that made this project unique.
Volunteer contributors began joining the project. Community collaboration started expanding data collection and verification processes.
WHO declared COVID-19 pandemic. Project became increasingly critical as Myanmar faced growing case numbers and public demand for accurate data.
Community-driven continuous daily updates, network chart creation (nc.covidmyanmar.com), and volunteer coordination. Project sustained through collective volunteer effort across Myanmar.
Project Impact & Recognition
Through the collective efforts of volunteers and community contributors, the COVID-19 Myanmar project became a critical resource during Myanmar's pandemic response:
- Community-driven success: Myanmar's first comprehensive COVID-19 tracking dashboard, made possible only through volunteer collaboration
- Essential for researchers: Volunteer-maintained detailed case-by-case data when official sources only offered cumulative numbers
- Developer community support: Community-contributed data enabled app developers and researchers to create prediction models and analysis tools
- Volunteer-powered transparency: Community effort served as an interpreter between government announcements and public understanding
- Collaborative innovation: Volunteers helped create unique network chart showing case relationships and transmission patterns
- Sustained by community: Featured in Myanmar COVID-19 resource collections and maintained by dedicated volunteers across the country
Community-Driven Technical Innovation
Through collaborative volunteer efforts, this project overcame significant technical and data challenges:
- Collective Data Extraction: Volunteers processed government announcements that were often inconsistent, since no API or structured data was available
- Community-Built Dashboard: Volunteers helped build comprehensive dashboard with filtering capabilities that official ArcGIS system lacked
- Volunteer Data Entry: Community contributors recorded date, age, sex, location, hospital, and reference links for each case
- Distributed Maintenance: Available at covidmyanmar.com, m.covidmyanmar.com (mobile), and bit.ly/covidmyanmar through volunteer support
- Community Visualization: Volunteers contributed to unique network chart showing transmission relationships between confirmed cases
- Volunteer-Sustained Updates: Maintained through dedicated volunteer effort, ensuring continuous data availability
- Community-Supported Dataset: Public spreadsheet (bit.ly/covidmmdata) maintained by volunteers to support the broader developer and research community
Project Screenshots & Visuals
Screenshots showcasing the dashboard evolution and key features during the pandemic:
Contributors & Volunteers
Special thanks to all who contributed to this project:
- Nyein Chan Ko Ko
- Ko Nyan Lynn Myint
- Dr Thet Aung
- Dr Chan Nyein Oo
- Nan Win May Aye
- Dr Kyaw Phyo Khaing
- Kyaw Myint Oo
- Htoo Tay Za
- Htet Wai Aung
- Dr Khun Than Shwe
- Leigh Mitch
- Dr Kaung Myat Wai Yan
- Moe Thazin Shwe
- Ko Kyaw Soe Lin
- Ko Soe Thura
- Dr Mee Mee Ye Mon
- Ma Pan Nu Zaw
- MIMIU
- Ko Ye Maw
- Thibi Team
- Tharthimyay Foundation
- Hnin Pwint Phyu
Research & Publications Using This Project
During the active pandemic period (2020-2021), the COVID-19 Myanmar dashboard and dataset were used by researchers, organizations, and institutions. While many pandemic-era projects have since become inactive, some references remain accessible:
- COVID-19 Myanmar Resources Collection - Comprehensive resource compilation and links
- COVID-19 Myanmar Dashboard Presentation - Detailed project presentation and methodology overview
- Data Science Analysis - Statistical analysis and visualization using covidmyanmar.com data
- Myanmar National Response to COVID-19 - Policy analysis report by Center for Policy Impact
- Wikipedia: COVID-19 pandemic in Myanmar - Comprehensive encyclopedia entry
- Myanmar COVID-19 and Complex Conflicts - Research report by The Asia Foundation
- g0v Summit 2020 Taiwan - Presentation on civic tech response to pandemic
Note: Many COVID-19 community projects and resources from 2020-2021 are no longer actively maintained, reflecting the natural lifecycle of pandemic response initiatives.
Data Sources & Methodology
The project pioneered innovative data collection methods during Myanmar's early pandemic response:
- Primary Source: Ministry of Health and Sports (MOHS) official news announcements
- Manual Extraction Process: Reading entire news releases and extracting key facts from inconsistent government announcements
- Data Validation: Cross-referencing multiple announcements to resolve inconsistencies
- Quality Assurance: Including reference links for every data point to ensure credibility
- Volunteer Network: Community contributors helped input and verify data accuracy
- Transparency Advocacy: Public feedback on Facebook when official data showed inconsistencies