Assessing population dynamics in a rural African society: The Navrongo Demographic Surveillance System

In 1993, the Navrongo Health Research Centre launched a new demographic res earch system for monitoring the impact of health service interventions in a rural district of northern Ghana. The Navrongo Demographic Surveillance Sy stem uses automated software generation procedures that greatly simplify th e preparation of complex database management systems. This paper reviews th e Navrongo model for data collection, as well as features of the Navrongo s ystem that have led to its replication in other health research projects re quiring individual-level longitudinal demographic data. Demographic researc h results for the first 2 years of system operation are indicative of a pre transitional rural society with high fertility, exceedingly high mortality risks, and pronounced seasonal out-migration.