28-30 Nov 2017
Regional workshop on Medical Death certification, Nadi, Fiji 28-30th November 2017
TAGS

The Brisbane Accord Group (BAG), led by SPC, WHO, the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Fiji National University (FNU) conducted a regional workshop on the medical certification of causes of death on 28th-30th November 2017 in Suva, Fiji. The workshop was attended by 19 participants, including Medical doctors and Health Information Personnel from six Pacific Island countries namely: Cook Islands, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, Tuvalu and Samoa. The workshop aimed at reviewing a set of training materials developed by BAG on medical certification of causes of death which had earlier been trailed through two national workshops held in Samoa and Tuvalu in September and October 2017 respectively. The workshop introduced the participants to existing training tools on cause of death certification and further went through Key topics that should be covered in teaching certification, including an overview and presentation of each topic, and review of training material and case examples. The workshop also discussed regional approaches to building capacity in medical certification, including the importance of cross-country knowledge and experience sharing. Improving the quality of cause of death data in the Pacific is a core priority for BAG and was underlined by the recently held Pacific Heads of Planning and Statistics Meeting. In this regard, BAG’s plans to strengthen its support and engagement in this area particularly through providing more opportunities for training and south-south exchanges among Pacific Island countries and Territories.