Summary

For the one billion people living in the world's poorest countries, where the burden of disease is highest, those who are born or who die are still not counted. The health profile of these populations is akin to an iceberg: the bulk of reliable data remains hidden. This great information void is a major, long-standing constraint to the articulation of effective policies and programs aimed at improving the health of the world''s poor. As such, it perpetuates profound health inequities in the developing nations of the South. This first volume of "Population and Health in Developing Countries" presents new and critical data recorded at the INDEPTH research sites. The impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa is leading to demographic changes in mortality patterns hitherto unseen and undocumented. This publication addresses this fundamental gap and, in doing so, describes patterns of mortality that current models are unable to provide. Starting with a description of the basic methods used, this volume summarizes mortality data, compares mortality patterns at INDEPTH sites, and reports on mortality patterns for Africa.