The START team facilitated and provided note-taking support during the Collection of Vital Events (COVERS) workshop in Lusaka, Zambia, from July 22nd to 25th, 2024. The notes captured breakout discussions among over 20 African country teams, plenary sessions, and main stage presentations focused on Sample Registration Systems planning, as well as the various approaches to implementing and sustaining these platforms, supported by the Gates Foundation. The overarching goal of the workshop was to improve the ability of countries to collect all-cause, all-age, mortality data in LMICs with Sample Registration Systems serving as a platform for collection of representative vital statistic.
In addition to participating in the facilitated discussions, the START team provided French-to-English translation services during breakout sessions as needed. There were five breakout activities: Stakeholder Mapping, Defining Priority Metrics, Workforce Planning, Governance and Management Structures, and Sustainability and Financing. Each activity involved four country teams and one note taker. However, with only three note takers available, one breakout room lacked direct note-taking support. The outcomes from these sessions were later collected by the START team in various formats, including images for stakeholder maps and governance structures, and Word or Excel files for the remaining activities.
The final deliverable was a document containing detailed notes from the three-day workshop, organized to be easily understood by the lead report writer.
The clients were particularly interested in capturing participants' questions, the depth of discussions, and feedback from the START team.
