About ESDS International

ESDS International disseminates and supports both aggregate and survey international datasets for UK FE and HE. The service is jointly run by Mimas at Manchester and the UK Data Archive at Essex and provides:

• free web-based access to regularly updated international aggregate (macro) datasets
• help for users in locating and acquiring international survey (micro) data from other archives
• a dedicated help desk
• comprehensive support materials for macro datasets and teaching and learning resources
• introductory courses to raise awareness of international datasets and their research potential and an annual conference on issues relating to international data research.
• interactive visualisation interfaces for international macro datasets.

On the international agenda...

Earthquake in Haiti

Even before the devastating earthquake of 12 January, Haiti was a fragile and vulnerable country. Decades of political instability, poverty and environmental degradation had left the country as the least-developed in the Western Hemisphere with an infrastructure close to collapse and social indicators among the weakest in the world. Two-thirds of all Haitians depended on the agricultural sector, leaving the country particularly exposed to damage from natural disasters. As a result, the World Food Programme has estimated that 2 million Haitians, or just under a quarter of the population, will be relying on food aid as a result of the earthquake. The map shows a cross tabulation of infant mortality rate and the adult prevalence rate of HIV-AIDS taken before the earthquake. It can be seen that Haiti was struggling by both measures, each a sensitive barometer of the general well-being of society.

Data source: CommonGIS interface to CIA World Factbook, Sept 2007

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