March 2026

In March 2026 the CDC Foundation and Zambia’s National Health Research Authority held a regional Data to Policy (D2P) Training of Trainers workshop in Lusaka, Zambia. The aim was to build sustainable D2P facilitation and mentoring capacity across the region and create a support network for new D2P facilitators.  

The training brought together fifteen government health professionals from Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, who had all previously completed a D2P training. The cohort participated in a four-day workshop composed of lectures, hands-on activities, presentations, role-playing scenarios, and peer feedback sessions.

Participants appreciated the training’s focus on continuous improvement and the opportunity to develop listening and adaptation skills. The participants also benefited from networking with public health professionals from other countries. Sizeka Mashele, Epidemiologist at the National Cancer Registry of South Africa, says of the training, “It built a sense of community and collaboration beyond borders, which is important because the work we do especially in public health and advocacy requires collective effort.”

Namakau Mundia, Executive Director of Resilient Hearts Foundation in Zambia, says of the regional network, “While we come from different contexts, many of the challenges we face in health systems, advocacy and community work are very similar.”

Upon completion of the training of trainers, these mentors and facilitators can deliver sustainable, locally led D2P programming. They are now prepared to guide their mentees through the steps of problem definition, root cause analysis, and economic evaluation. And as participants go on to teach future facilitators, the pool of expertise will expand, and more D2P trainings will be possible.