International Training Opportunities

Ron HymanColorado State Registrar

Emerging democracies Arab Spring Limited resources Limited staffing Limited coverage Travel challenges – budget, visas

The Need

Civil Registration/Vital Statistics (CRVS) Ministry of Health Ministry of Interior Issuing ID cards Quality of cause of death Coverage varies from 30% to over 90% Religious/cultural

Differences

Language barrier – working with translators Cultural differences – norms, religious Visa barrier – getting folks from different

countries into the host country Shopping for supplies Using work groups Examples that have relevance to the

students

Challenges

September 2012 in Rabat, Morocco Students from six countries – Afghanistan,

Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco and Yemen Primary languages – French, Arabic Using translators and headsets Using different electrical system Support from the US Embassy

Morocco Training

Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network

NCHS – Field Epidemiology Training Program◦ Erin Nichols◦ Sam Notzon

U.S. Embassy, Rabat, Morocco Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Morocco

Partners

To train and provide information on the source and range of uses of existing vital statistics data and to identify potential areas for improvement.

Test the curriculum for future broader usage Provide a regional platform for exchanging

views, ideas and best practices on CRVS

Purpose

Rapid Assessment of National Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems (WHO)

Health statistics from various countries Tools for cause of death categorization Evaluation tools

Tools

I loved the people The food is wonderful – fresh, flavors,

aromas The water is awful ->pharmacies in Morocco Cats, lots and lots and lots, do not touch Rabat is a modern, urban city Medina, Kasbah, road trip to Fez Police – secret or otherwise

Impressions of Morocco

Smart, educated, creative, big hearted Disagree, stubborn, don’t all like each other They want to do the best for their country Resources vary widely from state of the art

to extremely basic Fear of government is a real challenge for

them

The People

Seeing things through fresh eyes Challenging our preconceptions Building a wider network and great friends The joy of watching a student’s eyes when

they “get it”, even in a foreign language Serving as a representative of our country

and our profession

Benefits to Us

Translator’s BoothTwo translators

Headsets to hear translatorsMultiple channels

Moroccan power extension cordDon’t forget your

power converting tools

Minister of HealthKingdom of Morocco

My friends from Iraq

Multi-country work groups

Sam leading a discussionWell equipped meeting room at the hotel.

Every hotel in the world has these same seats.

Bottled waterYour friend.

Our team having lunch at street cafeFood was awesome!

No matter what the languageMade with sugar, not corn syrup

No ice

Entrance to Rabat MedinaDates to 14th century

Shops in the medinaAnything you want to buy

Deeper alleyway in Rabat MedinaHigh windows for privacy

Beautiful door to home in MedinaHomes are passed down through families

Mint tea is always servedNo, I didn’t buy a carpet, but I know

someone who did.

CarpetsAny color, any size, any pattern,

and of course we ship

Rabat Kasbah

Beautiful garden inside the KasbahThe city is lush and green

Ocean beachBelow Rabat Kasbah

Wonderful tramway system in RabatFrequent and inexpensive

Built by the French, like most everything there

Small town marketplaceLots of fresh, wonderful food

The old part of the Fez MedinaDates to the Ninth Century

Brass craftsmanGorgeous designs

Fez medina accommodations for workersAnimal stays below, you stay above

Fez medina shopIf they don’t have it, you don’t need

it

Community water fountain in Fez medinaWonderful mosaics everywhere

Shared oven for medina bakeriesDelicious bread

Tannery in Fez MedinaBeautiful leather goods

The smell is something else

The closest I got to CasablancaNext time!