Peer-reviewed article
Using calculations from the Lives Saved Tool in other global health modelling tools.
Roberton T, McKinnon R, Podkowiak T, Schmidt J, Winfrey W et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This is a technical viewpoint article describing the Lives Saved Tool (LiST), a software platform for modelling child and maternal mortality, and its new web-based application programming interface (API) that allows other programs to access its calculations and data. The article explains how the API enables LiST to be integrated into more complex health models and custom tools rather than used as a standalone application. It does not evaluate or present evidence about any specific intervention or child well-being outcome.
Key points
- LiST is a software tool for modelling changes in child, neonatal, and maternal mortality
- A new API allows other software programs to interact directly with LiST's internal calculations
- The API provides access to data on 70+ health interventions and their effectiveness and coverage
- The tool enables integration into complex models rather than requiring standalone use
- LiST has been developed over 20+ years
Limitations
This is a technical description of a software tool rather than an evaluation of an intervention's impact on children. It does not provide evidence about whether any specific health interventions actually improve child well-being outcomes.
Abstract
The Lives Saved Tool (LiST) is a widely used software package for modelling changes in child, neonatal, and maternal mortality. Until recently, it has mainly been used as a standalone tool that people manipulate using its desktop or online interface. The developers of LiST have now created a web-based application programming interface (API) allowing other software programmes to interact directly with LiST to use its internal calculations. This opens the door for using LiST within more complex models, for which coverage-to-mortality calculations are only a part, or for building topic-specific tools with a custom interface. The API also allows other software programmes to access the data that has been gathered and maintained by the LiST team on the effectiveness and coverage of 70+ interventions, along with data on mortality rates, cause-of-death structures, and child nutritional status in low- and middle-income countries. In this viewpoint, we describe how we see the API being used and give examples of tools that are already using it. Our hope is that others can now take full advantage of LiST and its 20+ years of development to build their own tools for effective data use in global health.