Epidemiological Analysis of Causes and Patterns of Morbidity and Mortality in Afghanistan

Oyelola A. Adegboye, American University of Afghanistan
Danelle Kotze, University of the Western Cape

This research investigates the causes and patterns of morbidity and mortality in Afghanistan. For about three decades, Afghanistan has been devastated by armed conflicts, starting with the Soviet invasion in 1979, the civil war between 1989 and 1994, and the rise of Taliban to power in 1994. The data included verbal autopsies from 1105 neonatal, 997 perinatal and children, and 1831 adults between 2007 and 2010 in Afghanistan. In order to get a clear picture of mortality and health of a population, it is essential to carry out a single and/or multiple cause of death analysis. We shed more light on the proportion of deaths related to each cause of death, looked into the potential association of community-level associated factors with individual health outcomes. The study also investigates the influence of community remoteness on morbidity and mortality, the frequency of disease associated cause of death.