The Ministry of Health, through the Department of Health Policy Development, Monitoring and Evaluation Health Statistics Unit, is taking a major step to strengthen mortality data systems. Ministry of Health this week will conduct a five day Training of Trainers workshop focused on Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) training. The workshop is designed to build a strong pool of national and sub national trainers who will later train healthcare workers across multiple facilities. This initiative supports better accuracy in cause of death reporting, which is critical for public health planning and decision making. It also strengthens the country’s ability to generate reliable health statistics for policy development. The programme forms part of broader efforts to improve civil registration and vital statistics systems. It places emphasis on consistency, standardization and long term capacity building across the health sector.
The Training of Trainers approach is central to the success of this programme because it ensures knowledge transfer at scale. Participants will be equipped with both technical and facilitation skills to deliver MCCD training effectively. The focus is on improving how medical professionals complete death certification so that data collected is accurate and usable. Poor quality cause of death data can lead to weak health planning and misdirected resources, so this training addresses a key gap in the health information system. The Health Statistics Unit under HPDME is leading the technical coordination of the programme and ensuring alignment with national data standards. The workshop also emphasizes sustainability by reducing reliance on external trainers over time. This approach allows trained facilitators to continuously support new cohorts of healthcare workers.
The workshop will target programme officers at national level and medical certifiers from selected districts under the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative Global Grants Program. Bloomberg Philanthropies supports improvements in public health data systems through structured capacity building initiatives. The participating districts include Gaborone, Mahalapye, Goodhope, Serowe, Kgatleng and Francistown, which represent key administrative and health service areas. These districts were selected to ensure broad geographic coverage and to strengthen national representativeness of mortality data. World Health Organization will provide technical assistance and facilitate training delivery, ensuring alignment with global standards for death certification. The collaboration between national authorities and international partners strengthens the quality and credibility of the training programme. It also supports the development of harmonized practices across all participating districts.
This initiative is expected to significantly improve the quality of Medical Certificate of Cause of Death completion across health facilities. Better certification practices will lead to more reliable mortality statistics, which are essential for tracking disease patterns and health outcomes. The cascade training model ensures that knowledge is transferred efficiently from national trainers to frontline healthcare workers. Over time, this will create a standardized system for death certification across the country. It will also strengthen the ability of health authorities to respond to emerging health challenges using accurate data. Stronger data systems will support evidence based planning, resource allocation and health policy development. The workshop therefore represents a strategic investment in building a more resilient and data driven health system.
