- Background
Reliable and timely information on cause-specific mortality data is a critical part of identifying emerging health problems and a fundamental component of evidence-based health policy development, implementation, and evaluation. The Africa Union, through Africa CDC, is developing tools to guide the measurement of the population-level impact of public health threats such as regional and global epidemics like Covid-19, and public health risks, for effective responses. As a result, a need for continuous and sustainable skills development on mortality surveillance for Member States has been prioritized.
The World Health Organization (WHO) Score Assessment conducted in 2016 and 2019 indicated limited capacity on mortality surveillance among the Member States. At the same time, regional consultations by Africa CDC highlighted the need to standardize the mortality reporting practices and enhance coordination and governance of integrated mortality surveillance.
To address these challenges and assist member states in building capacity to meet the demand for mortality data, Africa CDC has developed a continental framework for mortality surveillance. The purpose of the framework is to guide member states in planning, establishing and implementing their Mortality surveillance activities to increase availability of good quality and timely mortality data for public health action across the African continent. The mortality surveillance program at Africa CDC in partnership with Vital Strategies and other partners has developed a self-learning course on mortality surveillance based on the continental framework components. This course is hosted on the Africa CDC website.
Apply at this link: bit.ly/3LWNfVz
