Mexico City, April 22, 2026.– With the participation of authorities, international experts, and representatives from countries across the Region, the course “Training of ICD-11 coders and its tools: mortality component for the Americas” was launched in Mexico City. This initiative aims to strengthen technical capacities for the implementation of the new International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) in the recording and analysis of mortality data.
The opening session brought together Dr. Christian Zaragoza, Director General of Health Information at the Ministry of Health of Mexico and Head of the WHO Collaborating Centre for the Family of International Classifications in Mexico; Dr. José Moya, PAHO/WHO Representative in Mexico; and Dr. Robert Jakob, Head of Classifications, Terminologies and Standards at the WHO Department of Health Statistics and Information Systems.
The training is delivered in a hybrid format and in Spanish, combining a face-to-face phase—held from April 20 to 24 in Mexico City—with a virtual phase that will run through July 2026. The in-person component brings together a selected group of professionals with experience in coding causes of death, with the objective of enabling them to replicate the knowledge acquired and lead the transition to ICD-11 in their respective countries.
The virtual phase will expand the reach of the training to a broader audience across the Region, through weekly sessions addressing key technical aspects of ICD-11 and its tools, with particular emphasis on the mortality component and the use of the DORIS tool.
The course brings together representatives from governments and collaborating centres from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay, and 30 states of Mexico.
This initiative is part of PAHO’s Plan of Action for Strengthening Information Systems for Health 2030 and represents a key step toward improving the quality, comparability, and use of mortality data in the Region, which are essential for guiding public policies and health decision-making.
The course is supported by Data for Health (D4H) Bloomberg Philanthropies, with collaboration from the Mexican Center for the Classification of Diseases (CEMECE). Overall coordination is led by PAHO’s Information Systems and Digital Health Unit, in collaboration with content leads from Mexico, Chile, and Canada.
