Bolstering the Case for Enhanced Sample Registration Systems in Resource Limited Countries

Jonathan A Muir, Emory University
Robert F Breiman, Emory University
Solveig Cunningham, Emory University

Civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems are the gold-standard source for mortality data. Yet many resource-limited countries lack robust CRVS, which leads to a paucity of vital statistic data to inform policy and interventions aimed at mitigating mortality and morbidity. We propose Enhanced Sample Registration Systems (E-SRS) as an interim step towards establishing comprehensive CRVS in resource-limited countries. E-SRS would institute nationally representative sample registration systems in combination with methods for determining causes of death (e.g., minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS)). We explore the utilization of the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) network as a pilot platform for establishing E-SRS. We estimate the impact of establishing E-SRS in three countries where CHAMPS operates (i.e., Ethiopia, Bangladesh, and Mozambique) and discuss how data from these E-SRS could be used to save lives. To simulate the number of lives saved from establishing E-SRS in these countries, we used the Lives Saved Tool (LiST), which simulates estimates of the lives saved by scaling up child and maternal health interventions in low- and middle-income countries. Nine interventions related to top causes of child mortality were selected for simulation. We estimated 47,263 lives (children under age five) saved over a 15-year period.

Keywords: Civil Registration and Vital Statistics, Mortality and Longevity, Children, Adolescents, and Youth, Data and Methods

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