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The rapid and chaotic onset of the coronavirus pandemic created a need for the very best data to enable decision-makers to respond effectively to the crisis. 

In Costa Rica, in partnership with INCAE Business School, we collaborated with national and city governments to develop a tool that captures the socioeconomic risk of Covid-19. The Integrated Risk & Response (IRR) Tool considers social, economic, health, and real-time population interaction tracked through Facebook’s mobility data, available via Facebook’s Data for Good program, to define location-specific risk levels. The tool is currently in use by Costa Rica’s President and mayors across the country, to monitor the pandemic, prioritize actions and resources, and guide the closing and reopening of communities based on a comprehensive understanding of risks. This has quickly become a cornerstone of the government’s data-driven pandemic response strategy, allowing Costa Rica to safeguard the health and wellbeing of its 5.1 million people. Costa Rica currently maintains one of the lowest Covid-19 infection and mortality rates in the Americas.