In March 2025, the CDC Foundation, in collaboration with Vital Strategies, hosted a regional Health Economics Training of Trainers (ToT) in Nairobi, Kenya, aimed at strengthening health economics capacity in sub-Saharan Africa. Held under the Data to Policy (D2P) initiative, this four-day training convened 22 accomplished public health professionals from 10 African countries, including health economists, epidemiologists and ministry officials. Each participant was a graduate of theD2P program and was selected based on advanced qualifications and their role in national health policy development.
The ToT was designed to address a persistent challenge that long hindered effective health policy development: the limited availability of government health economists skilled in economic modeling approaches for decision analysis within ministries of health and other government health agencies. By empowering past D2P participants to become trainers themselves, the workshop promoted the sustainability of the D2P model through national ownership and local expertise.
The curriculum focused on practical competencies essential for evidence- informed policymaking such as cost analysis, economic evaluation, decision tree modeling and literature review strategies for epidemiological and costing data. A key highlight was the hands-on training with Amua, an open-source decision modeling software that enables users to build economic models without expensive proprietary tools, alongside Excel-based approaches.
The training structure blended theoretical knowledge with hands-on application. Using tuberculosis control and family planning as real-world case studies, participants constructed decision trees, developed status quo and intervention scenarios, calculated incremental cost-effectiveness ratios, learned to troubleshoot complex models and practiced mentoring techniques. These practical examples ensured that learning could be applied to pressing public health challenges facing their countries. By the end of the training, participants had gained the confidence and skills to lead D2Pworkshops in their home countries, mentor new cohorts in economic evaluation and support development of policy briefs that influence national health decisions.
Along with a series of advanced workshops on health economic evaluation conducted with Vanderbilt University in 2022, 2023 and 2024, this ToT marked how the D2P program builds capacity. Peer-to-peer learning created across-country network of professionals who can now serve as resources for one another. This regional network will be instrumental in sharing best practices and collectively addressing transnational public health priorities.
Next steps include supporting these newly trained facilitators to lead in-country D2P trainings, backed by continued technical assistance from CDC Foundation and Vital Strategies. By embedding health economics capacity within national health systems, the D2P program is helping to institutionalize data-driven decision-making that can lead to more effective and equitable health outcomes.
This story underscores the power of regional collaboration and local leadership in advancing sustainable health policy change. The Nairobi ToT not only built technical skills, it built a foundation for long-term impact.
