Seychelles has developed a national plan for mortality surveillance to facilitate the timely detection of and response to health emergencies. This initiative followed a five-day workshop organized by the country's Ministry of Health and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
The workshop, held from 17-25 June, resulted in the identification of leadership for the National Technical Working Group (TWG) for mortality surveillance and the drafting of the working group's terms of reference. Three members, who are to represent the country at the regional level, now await official nomination.
"The Mortality Surveillance Stakeholders consultative meeting in Seychelles aimed to strengthen routine mortality surveillance for timely response and evidence-based public health interventions while leveraging existing systems, processes, and partnerships," said Dr. Joy Ebonwu, Technical Officer, Surveillance and Response (Eastern RCC), Africa CDC.
"Seychelles has an impressive death registration coverage, but there is a gap in the utility of the data for surveillance outputs, which is critical for epidemic preparedness and response," she added.
During the workshop, mortality data from different sources were reviewed, and minimal datasets for routine mortality surveillance analysis were identified. A SWOT analysis of existing systems and processes was conducted, and a national action plan for implementing a comprehensive national mortality surveillance system was developed.
Some of the challenges discussed included the sharing of death registration data between health facilities, the Statistics Unit, and Civil Status through scanned copies via email, which were transcribed independently by each unit, resulting in no real-time visibility of data and discrepancies, with units working in silos.
Additionally, a multi-sectoral mortality surveillance TWG was established to be responsible for implementing the core activities of the action plan. The Disease Surveillance and Response Unit of the Ministry of Health was identified as the responsible agency for mortality surveillance.
Dr Ebonwu emphasized that this is not a one-off meeting but part of the continuing support to Seychelles. "Africa CDC will continue to support the country with the production of outputs from routine mortality data for scientific publication," she said.
Since publishing the Continental Framework for Strengthening Mortality Surveillance in July 2023, which outlines critical steps and processes for developing a coordinated national mortality surveillance system, Africa CDC has worked with African Union Member States to adapt and implement the framework.
A baseline self-assessment was carried out in the AU MS in September 2022, and country-specific draft action plans for implementing mortality surveillance have guided the level of support to each of the countries.
Speaking at the workshop, Dr Winnie Low-Wah, Country Preparedness and International Health Regulations Officer noted that African countries have effectively implemented integrated disease surveillance and response (IDSR) programs to facilitate the timely detection of and response to health emergencies.
Dr Low-Wah explained that the integrated disease surveillance programs in Africa have been mainly built around diseases known to cause outbreaks and epidemics, such as vaccine-preventable diseases, meningococcal meningitis, viral haemorrhagic fevers, poliomyelitis, and cholera.
"Focusing on a predetermined list of infectious illnesses for surveillance makes it difficult to promptly detect other emerging infectious and non-infectious illnesses of epidemic potential," Dr Low-Wah said. "With such high propensity for health emergencies, implementing a mortality surveillance program would be an additional and important tool for facilitating a more robust health emergency preparedness and response."
E-learning Course on Mortality Surveillance Launched
In collaboration with partners, Africa CDC has developed and launched an e-learning course based on the continental framework for strengthening mortality surveillance to enhance AU Member States' capacity to meet the demand for mortality data. The course aims to equip officers involved in setting up and managing mortality surveillance systems with the necessary information and knowledge related to mortality data, its management, interpretation, and use for real-time decision-making.
This self-paced short course can be undertaken by technical officers, surveillance officers, and epidemiologists working within the health sector, civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS), or any other sector related to and involved in mortality surveillance.
Dr Merawi said policymakers can use mortality data to advocate for policy changes in resource allocation and ensure accountability for health outcomes. In terms of monitoring and evaluation, he said the data can be used to track progress toward health-related goals and targets, evaluate the impact of policies and interventions, and adjust strategies based on mortality trends.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
The course is also valuable for risk assessment and prevention, such as identifying high-risk populations and geographic areas, implementing preventive measures like vaccination campaigns, and health education to reduce mortality risks.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for immediate or 'near to real-time' mortality surveillance data, especially in measuring the impact of the pandemic on public health on a global scale. "In Africa, the need for mortality data has been amplified even more due to the heavy burden of disease, coupled with humanitarian and environmental-related situations that demand urgent interventions to save lives," said Emily B. Atuheire, Africa CDC Surveillance Unit Lead.
The training can also extend to health system strengthening by improving health service delivery, addressing gaps revealed by mortality data, and enhancing health infrastructure, workforce, and quality of care. Access the course here: https://impact.africa-cdc.org/group/17/about
