Experience of community relays in monitoring child mortality in real time in Mali

Abstract

Introduction: The systematic registration of pregnancies, births and deaths of children at the village level helps a lot in estimating infant and child mortality rates. The objective of the study was to document the experience of community volunteers in monitoring the real-time mortality of children from 0 to 59 months. Material and methods: The study was retrospective and descriptive. It was carried out in 2018 and involved 20 villages in the Barouéli and Niono health districts in the Ségou region. The registration of deaths was done daily and was ensured by the community volunteers. The information used in our study was drawn from the following documents: the complete pregnancy history database, registers of pregnancies, births and deaths of children under 5, monthly supervision reports and data relay identification. Stata software version 12.0 and Excel were used for data analysis. Results: The relays reported 2,125 cases of pregnancy, 1,660 live births, 276 cases of death of children under 5, 52% of registered births took place at the health center and 77% of deaths occurred at home.
The ratio of infant and child mortality rates, compared to data from the complete historical survey of pregnancies, was 100.4 for community volunteers with 95%CI [80.4-120.4]. Conclusion: Community volunteers have demonstrated their ability to effectively record the three vital events.