Random demographic household surveys in highly mobile pastoral communities in Chad

Abstract

Problem Reliable demographic data is a central requirement for health planning and management, and for the implementation of adequate interventions. This study addresses the lack of demographic data on mobile pastoral communities in the Sahel. Approach A total of 1081 Arab, Fulani and Gorane women and 2541 children (1336 boys and 1205 girls) were interviewed and registered by a biometric fingerprint scanner in five repeated random transect demographic and health surveys conducted from March 2007 to January 2008 in the Lake Chad region in Chad. Local setting Important determinants for the planning and implementation of household surveys among mobile pastoral communities include: environmental factors; availability of women for interviews; difficulties in defining "own" children; the need for informationeducation-communication campaigns; and informed consent of husbands in typically patriarchal societies. Relevant changes Due to their high mobility, only 5% (56/1081) of registered women were encountered twice. Therefore, it was not possible to establish a demographic and health cohort. Lessons learnt Prospective demographic and health cohorts are the most accurate method to assess child mortality and other demographic indices. However, their feasibility in a highly mobile pastoral setting remains to be shown. Future interdisciplinary scientific efforts need to target innovative methods, tools and approaches to include marginalized communities in operational health and demographic surveillance systems.Abstracts in ‫,عريب‬ 中文, Français, Pусский and Español at the end of each article. ProblemAn estimated 50 million pastoralists live in sub-Saharan Africa.

Health of mobile pastoralists in theSahel – assessment of 15 years of research and development

“…; Weibel et al . ). This is why the installation of a demographic surveillance system is very desirable.…”

“…Information about the health and the demography of mobile pastoralists is essential to plan, implement and monitor interventions (Weibel et al 2008). However, long-term studies are difficult to conduct in mobile pastoralist settings because the composition of the camps is highly dynamic and it is almost impossible to follow up the same persons over time (Schelling et al 2003;Weibel et al 2011). This is why the installation of a demographic surveillance system is very desirable.…”

“…This is why the installation of a demographic surveillance system is very desirable. First attempts using biometric data like digital fingerprints proved to be impractical (Weibel 2009;Weibel et al 2011). New trials with mobile phones are being carried out, and the first results show their effectiveness as tool for demographic and health surveillance (Jean-Richard 2013).…”

La santé des pasteurs mobiles auSahel – Bilan de 15 années de recherches et développement

“…; Weibel et al . ). De ce fait, l'installation d'un système de surveillance démographique est fortement souhaitable.…”

“…Perspectives pour la recherche future L'objectif de toute recherche sur les pasteurs mobiles doit etre une am elioration de leur condition de vie (Obrist et al 2007(Obrist et al , 2010Zinsstag et al 2011) Les informations sur la sant e et la d emographie des pasteurs mobiles sont tr es importantes afin de planifier, de r ealiser et d' evaluer les interventions (Weibel et al 2008). Cependant, des etudes a long terme sont difficiles a effectuer en milieu nomade car la composition des campements est tr es dynamique et il est presque impossible de retrouver les mêmes personnes (Schelling et al 2003;Weibel et al 2011). De ce fait, l'installation d'un syst eme de surveillance d emographique est fortement souhaitable.…”