AKIPRESS.COM - Thirty Kyrgyz public health and health care professionals will be better able to respond to health risks as a result of training hosted jointly by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Ministry of Health, the U.S. Embassy in Bishkek said.

The training – titled Medical Certification for Cause of Death – began on May 15 and ends May 30. Participants will improve their skills in mortality reporting and learn how to utilize the newly developed electronic systems. Further, using train-the-trainer model, these professionals will go on to train their colleagues throughout the country.

This workshop directly responds to capacity needs identified by Ministry of Health in a joint investigation conducted with the CDC. It also builds on important work that CDC has been supporting since 2020, in partnership with Kyrgyz partners, to understand the true burden of COVID-19 mortality in the Kyrgyz Republic, improve mortality surveillance, and develop an electronic mortality surveillance system.

Why is death certification important?

Death certification provides important information to determine the levels and causes of mortality in a country. The data can be used to detect patterns and trends. This information is useful for setting public health priority areas and can help track progress on addressing the leading causes of death at local, national, and international levels. International standards for death certification are continually being updated, which is why this workshop ensures that Ministry of Health professionals are using the most up-to-date methodology.