(Newsletter: CRVS Insight June 2020)

The University of Melbourne’s Bloomberg Data for Health Initiative is excited to officially launch ANACONDA (Analysis of Causes of National Deaths for Action).

ANACONDA is the most comprehensive mortality data quality assessment platform that exists. It is an easy-to-navigate tool that provides a comprehensive step-by-step framework for interrogating mortality data. Featuring a detailed guide for users, it offers a series of data checks that are based on decades of epidemiological and demographic research into mortality patterns in different populations.

By regularly applying ANACONDA and carefully interpreting the outputs, users can better understand:

How reliable the input data from their routine CRVS systems are
What the probable biases or errors are
Progress in improving the quality of mortality and cause of death data
Where and what kind of interventions are most urgently needed to further strengthen their existing systems

So far, it has been applied in approximately fifty countries to guide data quality interventions. ANACONDA’s technical advisors believe it is an extremely useful tool for mortality data analysts, whether their countries’ CRVS systems are established or developing.