Global.health

What Global.health does

Global.health is a nonprofit data science initiative launched in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and operated by Boston Children's Hospital under Massachusetts jurisdiction. Its mission is to facilitate the rapid exchange of standardized, open-access epidemiological outbreak data for global public health decision-making. The platform collects, curates, and disseminates case-level line-list data across infectious disease outbreaks, including COVID-19 (over 100 million de-identified records from 100+ countries), mpox 2022 and 2024, Ebola (Uganda 2022), Marburg (Equatorial Guinea 2023), H5N1 avian influenza (USA 2024-2025), Ebola BVD (DRC and Uganda 2026), and Hantavirus (multicountry 2026). Core technology is a microservices architecture deployed to the cloud, built on MongoDB, Node.js, and Python, with a proprietary data schema covering 78 epidemiological parameters across eleven categories. Specialized analytical tools extend the platform's capabilities: GRAPEVNE (graphical pipeline development environment built on Snakemake), DART (Dengue Advanced Readiness Tools for climate-sensitive disease data integration), and InsightBoard (interactive outbreak visualization dashboard). Data is accessible via a self-serve website, dedicated data portal at data.global.health, GitHub repositories, and API endpoints.

The initiative operates as a public good with no pricing, subscriptions, or paid services. Revenue consists entirely of philanthropic grants from foundations including the Rockefeller Foundation ($3 million in November 2022), Google.org, Wellcome Trust, and Oxford Martin School. Distribution is community-led through a volunteer network of hundreds of contributors spanning 142 countries, with no traditional sales motion. The consortium includes 11 academic and research institutions (Harvard Medical School, University of Oxford, Johns Hopkins, Boston Children's Hospital, KEMRI-Wellcome Trust, Northeastern, Georgetown, Gorgas Memorial Institute, Stellenbosch/CERI, University of Washington, and others). End users include academic researchers, public health officials, governments, international health organizations (notably the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence), NGOs (Our World in Data), and media organizations. The organization has been recognized in The New York Times, Science Magazine, The Independent, Vice News, LSE, The Atlantic, and Google's own blog for its contribution to pandemic data transparency.

Growth signals include continued product expansion (GRAPEVNE and DART launched in 2025), entry into One Health and climate-sensitive disease surveillance, and broadening institutional partnerships with global health bodies. Constraints include nonprofit structure, grant-funding dependency, and absence of commercial monetization.

Name

Global.health

Legal name

Boston Children's Hospital

Website

https://global.health

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Global.health is a nonprofit data science initiative, operated by Boston Children's Hospital, that curates and disseminates open-access, standardized epidemiological outbreak data across 142 countries. It serves academic researchers, public health officials, governments, and international health organizations including the WHO.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Epidemiological Data Platform

NAICS

Administration of Public Health Programs (92312)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Disease Surveillance, Epidemiology & Outbreak Response (BPAIAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Data Integration, Interoperability & Reporting (ELR/HIE/CDC/NNDSS) (HLAJABAN), Disease & Condition Surveillance Programs (HLAJANAB), Population Health Surveillance & Epidemiologic Analytics (HLAJAJAB), Digital Health, Health Information Systems & Data Programs (BPADAIAJ)

Keywords

• Epidemiological data platform
• Outbreak surveillance tools
• Public health analytics
• Infectious disease tracking
• Open-source health data

Headquarters

HQ city

Oxford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding / Philanthropic Support: Global.health operates as a nonprofit data science initiative funded by foundations and philanthropic organizations including The Rockefeller Foundation, Google.org, Wellcome Trust, and Oxford Martin School. The platform provides open-access data and tools at no cost to users, functioning as a public good for global health preparedness.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Global.health operates an open-access epidemiological data platform that ingests, standardizes, and distributes de-identified line-list case data for infectious disease outbreaks worldwide. It offers disease-specific outbreak datasets (COVID-19, mpox, Ebola, Marburg, H5N1 avian influenza), three analytical tools (GRAPEVNE, DART, InsightBoard), and API/data-portal access — all provided free of charge as a public health good to researchers, public health agencies, and international health organizations.

Product overview

Global.health is a data science initiative operating as a unified platform with multiple interconnected tools and data products. The core Global.health Platform provides scalable infrastructure for collecting, standardizing, and sharing epidemiological line-list data across infectious disease outbreaks. Supporting the platform are specialized analytical tools: GRAPEVNE (graphical pipeline development environment for complex data analysis workflows), DART (data integration pipeline for climate-sensitive diseases), and InsightBoard (interactive visualization dashboard). The data portfolio includes disease-specific line lists for COVID-19, Mpox (2022 and 2024), Ebola, Marburg, and Avian Influenza, collectively containing over 100 million de-identified case records. All data is accessible through the Data Repository portal and via API, with outbreak-specific interactive maps and briefing reports providing situational awareness.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• InsightBoard: Data visualization and analytics tool for outbreak data
• DART
• GRAPEVNE
• On the Dot Newsletter

Quantifiable outcome

• Enabled early identification of COVID-19 incubation period (5-14 days)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Boston Children's HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoston Children's Hospital hosts Global.health and serves as the institutional home for the initiative. The hospital's address is 300 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA 02115. Many key researchers and leaders are affiliated with this institution.
• Harvard Medical SchoolmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHarvard Medical School is listed as a participating institution in the Global.health consortium, with researchers contributing to outbreak data analysis and platform development.
• University of OxfordmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Oxford is a participating institution with researchers including Moritz U.G. Kraemer contributing extensively to Global.health research publications and platform development.
• Johns Hopkins University (Center for Health Security)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJohns Hopkins University Center for Health Security is listed as a participating institution, contributing expertise in health security and pandemic preparedness.
• Northeastern UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNortheastern University is a participating institution in the Global.health consortium, with researchers contributing to outbreak data research.
• KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research ProgrammemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (Kenya) is a participating institution contributing to Global.health research and outbreak data collection, particularly for African disease surveillance.
• Georgetown University (Georgetown Health Sciences International)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeorgetown University is listed as a participating institution, contributing to global health security research and outbreak data analysis.
• Gorgas Memorial Institute for Health StudiesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGorgas Memorial Institute (Panama) is a participating institution in the Global.health consortium, contributing to infectious disease surveillance research.
• Stellenbosch University / CERImajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStellenbosch University and its Centre for Epidemic Research and Response (CERI) in South Africa are participating institutions contributing to outbreak data analysis.
• University of WashingtonmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Washington is a participating institution contributing to Global.health research and outbreak data collection efforts.
• WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic IntelligencemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal.health works with the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence on defining contact data schemas and supporting global health surveillance efforts.
• Our World in DataminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOur World in Data uses Global.health datasets for outbreak visualization and analysis, serving as a downstream data distribution channel.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• HealthMap: Boston Children's Hospital-based real-time disease outbreak monitoring platform that aggregates global alerts from news, official reports, and validated sources. Directly comparable to Global.health as a sibling initiative from the same parent institution with overlapping epidemiologist teams and complementary surveillance modalities.
• BlueDot: Commercial epidemic intelligence platform that fuses global disease surveillance data with travel and contextual analytics to predict outbreak spread. Comparable to Global.health as an outbreak analytics platform serving governments and health agencies, but on a commercial rather than non-profit footing.
• GISAID: Global data science initiative providing open-access sharing of influenza, COVID-19, and other respiratory virus genomic sequences. Highly comparable as a global-health data commons with public-good positioning and grant/foundation support that underpins pathogen surveillance.
• ProMED-mail: Program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases that provides open-access reporting of infectious disease outbreaks across humans, animals, and plants. Comparable to Global.health as an open, volunteer-supported disease surveillance network built on standardized line-list reporting.
• Metabiota: Epidemic risk analytics company offering outbreak surveillance, modeling, and risk-scoring products for insurers, governments, and multinationals. Closely comparable to Global.health's outbreak analytics and forecasting capabilities but operating as a commercial software vendor.
• Nextstrain: Open-source project providing real-time tracking of pathogen evolution through phylogenetic analysis with interactive visualizations. Comparable to Global.health's GRAPEVNE workflow and one-health focus, and shares the open-access, academic-led data ethos.

Broad incumbents

• European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC): EU agency conducting surveillance of communicable diseases, operating EpiPulse and other EU-wide data platforms. Comparable as a large public-sector infectious disease surveillance authority with greater resources and policy mandate, but with narrower geographic scope than Global.health.
• WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence: WHO-established hub in Berlin for collaborative surveillance and pandemic intelligence. Already a strategic partner to Global.health, and a broadly comparable overarching institution in pandemic data integration, but with substantially greater and more stable institutional funding.
• CDC National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS): CDC-run system for monitoring notifiable diseases across U.S. jurisdictions. Comparable as a foundational disease surveillance and reporting platform, but US-national and government-led rather than global and volunteer-driven like Global.health.

Emerging players

• Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) COVID-19 Dashboard: Pandemic dashboard project providing near-real-time global COVID-19 case visualization and an extensive GitHub dataset. Comparable as a globally recognized, donor-funded outbreak dashboard and dataset from Johns Hopkins, with overlap in academic credibility and open-access distribution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/globaldothealth
• GitHubgithub.com/globaldothealth
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/globaldothealth

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Global.health