THE ABSENCE OF ADULT MORTALITY DATA FOR SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA - A PRACTICAL SOLUTION

Information on cause of death among adults in sub-Saharan Africa is es sentially nonexistent, Published sources provide statistics on both ca use-specific and overall rates of mortality, but closer examination re veals that these data consist mostly of extrapolations and outright gu esses. In the absence of accurate and comprehensive registries of vita l events for the majority of the region's inhabitants, longitudinal st udies of defined population-based cohorts represent the only realistic strategy to fill this void in basic public health information. The ad vantage of longitudinal studies is particularly clear for chronic dise ases, the category for which the least is known. Noncommunicable disea ses account for a significant portion of adult deaths in sub-Saharan A frica, yet the empirical bases for public health policies and interven tions are essentially absent, Verbal autopsy has great potential to co ntribute to understanding about the cause of death among African adult s, This method is discussed in the present article, and practical cons iderations for longitudinal studies using this methodology are reviewe d.