- Enhanced coordination across different partners in HIV response is critical to ensure smooth operations and effective mortality surveillance.
- Challenges exist in reporting deaths that occur in facilities different from where the deceased received care, leading to gaps in updating systems like SmartCare.
- Delays in identifying the occurrence of Record of Cause (ROC) deaths in both community settings and hospital wards hinder subsequent processes.
- Data shows increased levels of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as co-morbidities among decedents, with three out of the five leading probable causes of death linked to these conditions.
- Lack of standardized community practices for managing HIV-related VA data limits the optimal use and translation of such information into actionable insights.
- Limited data on community deaths before 2020 due to insufficient reporting mechanisms and cultural sensitivities.
- Infrastructure limitations in remote regions pose challenges in conducting Verbal Autopsies and real-time data collection.
- Addressing gaps in HIV-related death data due to stigma and underreporting remains an ongoing priority.
To overcome these challenges, the program focuses on robust training, inter-agency collaboration, and the use of advanced digital tools to streamline processes and improve data accuracy.