Building capacity for birth defects surveillance in Africa: Implementation of an intermediate birth defects surveillance workshop

Each year around the world, it is estimated that 300,000 neonates are born with a neural tube defect. Many countries, however, are still lacking comprehensive birth defects surveillance registries. Comprehensive birth defects surveillance systems can help countries understand the magnitude and distribution of the problem. These systems can also provide information about biological, contextual, social and environmental determinants of birth defects. This information in turn can be used to identify effective and implementable solutions, and to evaluate prevention and management strategies to improve quality performance. This paper summarizes the development and implementation of an online pre-course training and in-person surveillance workshop conducted between 2014 December and 2015 March for representatives from six African countries. Feedback given by participants provided valuable lessons learned that can be applied to subsequent trainings and workshops. Fil: Flores, Alina. National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities; Estados Unidos. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos Fil: Valencia, Diana. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos. National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities; Estados Unidos Fil: Sekkarie, Ahlia. Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education; Estados Unidos Fil: Hillard, Cristina L.. Carter Consulting, Inc.; Estados Unidos Fil: Williams, Jennifer. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos. National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities; Estados Unidos Fil: Groisman, Boris. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Dirección Nacional de Instituto de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud ; Argentina Fil: Botto, Lorenzo D.. University of Utah; Estados Unidos Fil: Peña Rosas, Juan Pablo. Organizacion Mundial de la Salud; Argentina Fil: Bauwens, Lieven. International Federation for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus; Bélgica Fil: Mastroiacovo, Pierpaolo. Coordinating Centre of the International Clearinghouse for Birth Defects Surveillance and Research; Italia