Juan Carbajal: “Open data helps to make decisions” | INTERVIEW

At El Comercio we continue with our series of interviews with relevant people from the Peruvian science and research. The excerpt presented below is part of the second season of the podcast series “Peruvian Minds”, Where we will seek to know what is behind Peruvian scientists, researchers and experts from different disciplines.

Engineer Juan Carbajal is one of the main disseminators of statistical information related to the advance of the pandemic in Peru. Trade spoke with him to learn more about the group of which he was part and about the importance of open data.

– WHAT WAS OPENCOVID-PERU?

A very pleasant experience that opened many doors for us to inform our country about the pandemic. It was a group formed, initially, by six people who already published information on social networks. I started by posting to my personal Facebook account after the pandemic started and then reactivated an old Twitter account. I started contacting several of the guys, especially Ragi Burhum and Víctor Sánchez, who invited me to be part of the team. This was consolidated in August 2020 and began this journey of providing information based on open data.

– WITH ALREADY EXISTING DATA …

. On the other hand, we wanted to respond to any concerns from the media and help them. In summary, it was a very pleasant experience because, in one way or another, it also allowed each of us to dump our knowledge of our own careers, because we were from different professions: engineers, biologists, scientists related to the subject of computing or social networks.

– IT WAS NOT JUST A THING OF HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, BUT OF EXPERTS FROM OTHER DISCIPLINES …

I always keep a phrase from Dr. Elmer Huerta: “We would not necessarily have to be people related to medicine or health to do public health.” Each of us, with different specialties –and in my case engineering and my passion for numbers–, we were able to make what we knew available to all. Together with the team, we helped decision-making and that people knew the harsh reality that we were going through in the country, but in a simple way that could be understood.

– HOW KEY WAS SORTING ALL THIS INFORMATION DISPOSED ON EVERYWHERE?

When each one, independently made the analyzes, we found inconsistent information between what the Minsa reported and each regional office or each regional health management. It is a satisfaction to see a harvest. From so many months of work so that the information is unified. And the importance of having open data, because they help decision-making.

– WHY DID OPENCOVID-PERÚ SEPARATE?

In March of this year there was a restructuring. We did a hackathon to add new members. Seven new members joined, related to sociology, study of the behavior of people, and other disciplines. The website was also restructured, because vaccination had already started and we were focused on that. But, between July and August, there were certain differences. That began to be felt on Twitter, as it stopped publishing. Through a statement we announced that a member of the team had seized the passwords of the networks. That kind of thing generated discouragement among the other members; cracked the unity of the team. A consensus was reached and it was decided that the OpenCovid-Peru project had completed a cycle.

– WHAT HAS BEEN THE MAIN LESSON FROM THIS PANDEMIC?

That everyone, from where we are, regardless of the position or professional training that we have, we can do a bit to move our country forward. Another is that, despite being a crisis, I have always remained a positive person. Today if I see a crisis, for me it is an opportunity to do something new, to make changes.

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