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Cause-specific childhood mortality in Africa and Asia: evidence from INDEPTH health and demographic surveillance system sites
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Cause-specific childhood mortality in Africa and Asia: evidence from INDEPTH health and demographic surveillance system sites

P. Kim Streatfield, Wasif A. Khan, Abbas Bhuiya, Syed M.A. Hanifi, Nurul Alam, Mamadou Ouattara, Aboubakary Sanou, Ali Sié, Bruno Lankoandé, Abdramane B. Soura, …
Global health action, v 7(1), pp 25363-25363
01 Jan 2014
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3402/gha.v7.25363
PMID: 25377325
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
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https://doi.org/10.3402/gha.v7.25363View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

Africa Asia Childhood INDEPTH Network InterVA mortality verbal autopsy
Childhood mortality, particularly in the first 5 years of life, is a major global concern and the target of Millennium Development Goal 4. Although the majority of childhood deaths occur in Africa and Asia, these are also the regions where such deaths are least likely to be registered. The INDEPTH Network works to alleviate this problem by collating detailed individual data from defined Health and Demographic Surveillance sites. By registering deaths and carrying out verbal autopsies to determine cause of death across many such sites, using standardised methods, the Network seeks to generate population-based mortality statistics that are not otherwise available. To present a description of cause-specific mortality rates and fractions over the first 15 years of life as documented by INDEPTH Network sites in sub-Saharan Africa and south-east Asia. All childhood deaths at INDEPTH sites are routinely registered and followed up with verbal autopsy (VA) interviews. For this study, VA archives were transformed into the WHO 2012 VA standard format and processed using the InterVA-4 model to assign cause of death. Routine surveillance data also provided person-time denominators for mortality rates. Cause-specific mortality rates and cause-specific mortality fractions are presented according to WHO 2012 VA cause groups for neonatal, infant, 1-4 year and 5-14 year age groups. A total of 28,751 childhood deaths were documented during 4,387,824 person-years over 18 sites. Infant mortality ranged from 11 to 78 per 1,000 live births, with under-5 mortality from 15 to 152 per 1,000 live births. Sites in Vietnam and Kenya accounted for the lowest and highest mortality rates reported. Many children continue to die from relatively preventable causes, particularly in areas with high rates of malaria and HIV/AIDS. Neonatal mortality persists at relatively high, and perhaps sometimes under-documented, rates. External causes of death are a significant childhood problem in some settings.

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31 citations in Web of Science
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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being
#5 Gender Equality

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
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