Births and deaths must be registered in Africa

Sankoh, Osman; Dickson, Kim; Faniran, Sanjo; Lahai, John Idris; Forna, Fatu; Liyosi, Evans; Kamara, Mohamed Koblo; Jabbi, Sonnia-Magba Bu-Buakei; Johnny, Andrew Bob; Conteh-Khali, Neneh; Bangali, Agnes; Kangbai, Jia Bainga; Bockarie, Tahir; Massaquoi, Mohamed M; Smart, Francis; Jambai, Amara; Clarke, Michael; Dlamini, Andile; Lehohla, Pali; Weston, Mark

doi:10.1016/s2214-109x(19)30442-5

Cited by 34 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…While the true picture of infections and mortality in the continent has yet to fully emerge, the quality of data for other diseases such as HIV/AIDS indicate that Africa has capacity to collect and report valid disease surveillance data 193 , which should give a degree of confidence on the COVID-19 data from the continent. Nevertheless, improving completeness of data collection and reporting is an ongoing mission for Africa and elsewhere 30,194 . Strengthening lab capacities, validating current rapid tests in context of other infectious diseases, and standardizing data and survey reporting will also expand the true picture 39 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Could Explain the Lower COVID-19 Burden in Africa Despite Considerable Circulation of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus?

Wamai

Hirsch

Damme

et al. 2021

Preprint

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COVID-19 differential spread and impacts across regions is a major focus for researchers and policy makers. Africa has attracted tremendous attention due to predictions of catastrophic impacts that have not yet materialized. Early in the pandemic, the seemingly low African case count was largely attributed to low testing and case reporting. However, there is also reason to consider that many African countries got out ahead of the virus early on. Factors explaining low spread include early government mandated lockdowns, community-wide actions, population distribution, social contacts, and ecology of human habitation. While recent data from seroprevalence studies posit more extensive circulation of the virus, continuing low COVID-19 burden may be explained by the demographic pyramid, prevalence of pre-existing conditions, trained immunity, genetics, and broader sociocultural dynamics. Though all these prongs contribute to the observed profile of COVID-19 in Africa, some provide stronger evidence than others. This review is important to expand what is known about the differential impacts of pandemics enhancing scientific understanding and gearing appropriate public health responses. Also, highlighting potential lessons the world may draw from Africa for global health on assumptions regarding deadly viral pandemics given its long experience with infectious diseases.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Could Explain the Lower COVID-19 Burden in Africa Despite Considerable Circulation of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus?

Wamai

Hirsch

Damme

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The civil vital registration systems are more cost-effective platforms for continuous tracking of childhood mortality (than surveys), but presently are not reliable in Nigeria and other resource-limited settings. [80][81][82] Civil registration in Nigeria and other resource-limited countries should be strengthened to produce accurate and reliable vital statistics data that can be used for tracking age, sex and geographic-specific mortality rates. Disaggregating childhood mortality rates by region would help identify the vulnerable populations for implementation of targeted policies and interventions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing patterns of gender inequities in childhood mortalities during the Sustainable Development Goals era in Nigeria: findings from an artificial neural network analysis

et al. 2021

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ObjectivesIn line with the child survival and gender equality targets of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 3 and 5, we aimed to: (1) estimate the age and sex-specific mortality trends in child-related SDG indicators (ie, neonatal mortality rate (NMR) and under-five mortality rate (U5MR)) over the 1960s–2017 period, and (2) estimate the expected annual reduction rates needed to achieve the SDG-3 targets by projecting rates from 2018 to 2030.DesignGroup method of data handling-type artificial neural network (GMDH-type ANN) time series.MethodsThis study used an artificial intelligence time series (GMDH-type ANN) to forecast age-specific childhood mortality rates (neonatal and under-five) and sex-specific U5MR from 2018 to 2030. The data sets were the yearly historical mortality rates between 1960s and 2017, obtained from the World Bank website. Two scenarios of mortality trajectories were simulated: (1) status quo scenarios—assuming the current trend continues; and (2) acceleration scenarios—consistent with the SDG targets.ResultsAt the projected rates of decline of 2.0% for NMR and 1.2% for U5MR, Nigeria will not achieve the child survival SDG targets by 2030. Unexpectedly, U5MR will begin to increase by 2028. To put Nigeria back on track, annual reduction rates of 7.8% for NMR and 10.7% for U5MR are required. Also, female U5MR is decreasing more slowly than male U5MR. At the end of SDG era, female deaths will be higher than male deaths (80.9 vs 62.6 deaths per 1000 live births).ConclusionNigeria is not likely to achieve SDG targets for child survival and gender equities because female disadvantages will worsen. A plausible reason for the projected increase in female mortality is societal discrimination and victimisation faced by female child. Stakeholders in Nigeria need to adequately plan for child health to achieve SDG targets by 2030. Addressing gender inequities in childhood mortality in Nigeria would require gender-sensitive policies and community mobilisation against gender-based discrimination towards female child.

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“…1 These data are crucial for improving health, protecting human rights, informing social policy and supporting programme evaluation. [2][3][4] However, the routine sources of data for health information systems in most low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) are underdeveloped. 5 6 Illustratively, a recent analysis of national surveys showed that over half the births (53.3%) of children aged under 5 years in Eastern and Southern Africa were unregistered and less than a third (26.9%) of these children had a birth certificate.…”

Section: What Do the New Findings Imply?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards an appropriate ethics framework for Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSS): learning from issues faced in diverse HDSS in sub-Saharan Africa

2021

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IntroductionHealth and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSS) collect data on births, deaths and migration from relatively small, geographically defined populations primarily in Africa and Asia. HDSS occupy a grey area between research, healthcare and public health practice and it is unclear how ethics guidance that rely on a research-practice distinction apply to HDSS. This topic has received little attention in the literature. In this paper, based on empirical research across sub-Saharan Africa, we map out key ethical issues for HDSS and assess the relevance of current ethics guidance in relation to these findings.MethodsWe conducted a qualitative study across seven HDSS sites in sub-Saharan Africa, including individual in-depth interviews and informal discussions with 68 research staff, document reviews and non-participant observations of surveillance activities. Qualitative data analysis drew on a framework approach led by a priori and emergent themes, drawing on the wider ethics and social science literature.ResultsThere were diverse views on core ethical issues in HDSS, including regarding the strengths and challenges of community engagement, informed consent and data sharing processes. A key emerging issue was unfairness in the overall balance of benefits and burdens for residents and front-line staff when compared with other stakeholders, particularly given the socioeconomic contexts in which HDSS are generally conducted.ConclusionWe argue that HDSS operate as non-traditional epidemiologic research projects but are often governed using ethics guidance developed for traditional forms of health research. There is a need for specific ethics guidance for HDSS which prioritises considerations around fairness, cost-effectiveness, ancillary care responsibilities, longitudinality and obligations of the global community to HDSS residents.

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Births and deaths must be registered in Africa

Cited by 34 publications

References 2 publications

What Could Explain the Lower COVID-19 Burden in Africa Despite Considerable Circulation of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus?

What Could Explain the Lower COVID-19 Burden in Africa Despite Considerable Circulation of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus?

Changing patterns of gender inequities in childhood mortalities during the Sustainable Development Goals era in Nigeria: findings from an artificial neural network analysis

Towards an appropriate ethics framework for Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSS): learning from issues faced in diverse HDSS in sub-Saharan Africa

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