title: Building capacity for birth defects surveillance in Africa: Implementation of an intermediate birth defects surveillance workshop.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Alina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.affiliation: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Valencia
authors.affiliation: Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), Oak Ridge, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Ahlia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sekkarie
authors.affiliation: Carter Consulting, Inc., Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Christina L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Hillard
authors.affiliation: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: National Registry of Congenital Anomalies of Argentina (RENAC), National Ministry of Health.
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Groisman
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
authors.forename: Lorenzo D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Botto
authors.affiliation: Evidence and Programme Guidance, Nutrition for Health and Development, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Juan Pablo
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Peña-Rosas
authors.affiliation: International Federation for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Lieven
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bauwens
authors.affiliation: Coordinating Centre of the International Clearinghouse for Birth Defects Surveillance and Research, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Pierpaolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mastroiacovo