When one considers the many critical issues facing the world today, from child abuse to rampant fraud, and from healthcare and educational issues to prison overcrowding and an epidemic of opioid addiction, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. However, while these challenges are large, they are not insurmountable, particularly when advanced analytics are applied to the problems.

The benefits such analytics can provide to the search for solutions to these issues is such that SAS has committed itself to the Data for Good movement. This is a project that encourages using data in meaningful ways to solve humanitarian issues affecting the world, including poverty, health, human rights, education and the environment.

In a world continuously impacted by both natural and man-made disasters, one of the core focuses of Data for Good is to enable more rapid and effective disaster relief responses, according to Antionette van Zyl, Business Solutions Manager at SAS South Africa.

"There are many advantages that big data and advanced analytics can offer to emergency services before, during and after a disaster. For example, by using big data and analytics to study records about geography, population, mobile-device usage and more, authorities can more easily discern underlying patterns and associations that will enable the relevant services to quickly react to floods, fires and other deadly scenarios," she says.

"Furthermore, big data derived from multiple sources, such as population demographics, weather patterns, flood zones, town planning and even cartography can be built into a disaster management strategy. This makes it easier to direct rescue crews or firefighters to those areas most in need, or for predicting the kind of medicines, food and medical equipment that will be required in specific areas. It can also help in determining where both the safest and most optimal areas are to set up emergency centres."

But it is not only about responding to disasters and emergencies, continues Van Zyl. It is equally about changing conversations around behavioral health. A perfect example here is in dealing with the opioid addiction crisis impacting the US.

"According to the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Medicaid beneficiaries are prescribed painkillers at twice the rate of non-Medicaid patients and are at three to six times the risk of prescription painkillers overdose.

"Tracking the details of users of these drugs and correlating this with multiple other sources, including emergency departments and opioid and heroin abuse data, makes it much easier to understand and thereby assist people in crisis."

Another focus of the campaign is children, who are one of the most at-risk groups in the world, whether we are talking youngsters caught in the cycle of poverty and abuse or child refugees fleeing from a war zone. Data and analytics offers new ways of protecting the lives of these at-risk individuals.

"Child welfare agencies, for example, can use data and analytics to help prevent child abuse and improve outcomes for children and families. Big data can play a big role in supplementing the instincts, compassion and understanding of child services administrators, social workers and caregivers when it comes to child welfare. Agencies like the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) can equally make use of these tools to better understand – and therefore deal with – refugee influxes around the world."

Of course, she adds, it is not only human beings that can benefit from the Data for Good initiative. The environment also stands to benefit enormously from the effective implementation of analytics.

"A good practical example here is how the World Wildlife Fund for nature is using analytics and data management from SAS to help maximise donations, to assist in building a future where people live in harmony with nature. By using SAS Analytics and SAS Data Management to maximise marketing efforts, the organisation is able to increase its revenue from donations, while at the same time reducing acquisition costs. That means more funding to protect the planet.

"As far as SAS is concerned, using data for good is really all about applying analytics to make better decisions about the world we want to see. And it's about intensifying this impact when these tools are used by people with a desire to make a difference. This is, ultimately, the goal of the Data for Good project – to combine cutting-edge analytics with those forward-thinking individuals who want to make the world a better place," concludes Van Zyl.