M&E of Public Health Programs Workshop in Zaria, Nigeria

Monitoring and evaluation skills are central to the successful design and implementation of programs and are necessary for analyzing and using data for advocacy for public health and population programs. Unfortunately, investments in building these skills have been limited, thus compromising the success of health programs. As part of the effort to build the necessary capacity of M&E professionals working in the health sector in the country, a two-week non-degree certificate course is being organized to provide training in M&E systems and the application of data to decision making in population and health programming.

Workshop Objectives

At the end of the training, participants will be able to:

• Identify health and population decisions that can be informed by M&E
• Formulate questions that need to be answered in order to make informed M&E decisions
• Describe the basic concepts and practical approaches to conducting M&E
• Describe information systems and data flow
• Assess quality of data used in M&E
• Disseminate and  use M&E information strategically
• Develop an M&E plan
• Use STATA software

Workshop Contents

The workshop offers intensive training that will cover the fundamental concepts and tools for monitoring and evaluating public health programs. Sessions will include:

• The Role of Strategic Information in Decision Making
• M&E Frameworks
• Developing M&E Plans
• Indicator Selection and Interpretation
• Data Demand and Use
• Assessment of Data Quality
• Use of STATA Software in Data Analysis
• Introduction to Use of GIS in M&E
• Gender Issues in M&E
• M&E Issues in Population, Reproductive Health/PMTCT, Malaria and TB Programs

Hands-on experience in developing M&E plans will be gained through small group work activities spread over the whole period of the workshop.

Who should attend?

The course is designed for national and subnational M&E officers and their counterpart advisers and assistants who are involved in the implementation of public health programs, especially those involved in HIV and AIDS, TB, malaria, child health, reproductive health and social sector programs. Computer literacy and experience with data systems will be an advantage. Participants are expected to be proficient in English as it is the language of instruction.