Data to Policy Mentorship Program
About the Program
Under its Knowledge Translation mandate of promoting and facilitating use of evidence to inform decision making processes, the NHRA with support from the Bloomberg Data for Health Initiative conducts the Data to Policy (D2P) skills-based training mentorship program of selected public health professionals from different institutions with a goal of developing evidence-based policy briefs on priority issues aligned with the National Health Research Agenda and the Ministry of Health (MoH) Policy Agenda. Specifically, the program aims at bridging the gap between public health professionals and policy-makers by training public health professionals to utilize scientific evidence from research and existing public health data to formulate policy options for policy recommendation.
For this year’s cohort, the NHRA through its funder has taken a different approach, with much focus on the use of mortality data and how it can be utilized to improve and inform health service delivery in Zambia. Undoubtedly, high quality and complete Cause of Death (COD) information is essential for the production of reliable mortality statistics, monitoring population health by identifying the magnitude and distribution of major diseases, monitoring and evaluating of health programmes and policy development. However, death registration coverage in the Civil Registration System remains low in Zambia, with a national coverage of approximately 20 percent. In light of this, it is envisioned that the D2P program will facilitate the development of policy recommendations on how to improve coverage.
By the end of the mentorship, mentees will develop advanced analytical skills and learn quantitative methods necessary to use data to inform policy. The developed policy briefs will be subjected to the review, scrutiny and input of senior public health officials, technocrats, government officials and other relevant stakeholders before they are presented at a Policy Forum and later to key stakeholders for policy consideration and decision making
MODE OF DELIVERY
This is a mentorship course to be delivered for a period of nine months or more. This will comprise of at least four (04) face-to-face workshops. In between the workshops, the teams will be working with mentors to move the policy briefs along. The program also includes conducting stakeholder engagements at throughout the development process to get input and feedback on the policy briefs. A policy forum will be held at the end of the program to present the policy briefs to policy makers
TIMELINE
The application period is 18th August to 8th September , 2023.
Applicants will be notified by 22nd September , 2023.
Classes commence on 2nd October , 2023.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Obtain the application form by clicking on the provided link HERE. After completing the form, send it to nsanzya.maambo@nhra.org.zm. Feel free to also contact the number listed here to acquire further information: +260979006153.
