In February, the Southern Africa Human Capacity Development Coalition (a Capacity Project Associate Award) assisted the Swaziland Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in conducting a workshop on Data-Driven Decision-Making (DDDM). Building on lessons learned from the Capacity Project’s DDDM workshop in Uganda, facilitators helped 28 public-health managers to understand information already available from their human resources information system (HRIS)—strengthened by the Project—and introduced them to tools for making evidence-based decisions. Facilitators included Ministry of Health staff responsible for continuing to strengthen the HRIS. After an overview, participants defined terms, learned how to update information and request reports and analyzed several reports. For many, this was their first time reviewing the reports; several people expressed surprise at the number of vacant posts and staff nearing retirement age. Working groups discussed making data more accessible to inform policy and practice, then revised and prioritized the draft policy and management questions from a previous workshop. Feedback was very positive, with several requests to conduct similar workshops for decision-makers at all levels.
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