Reiner RC, et al. - Among children younger than 5 years old across Africa during the Millennium Development Goal era (2000–2015), a systematic assessment of local variation in diarrheal morbidity and mortality was conducted. This investigation revealedthat, across Africa, there is clear local variation in childhood morbidity and mortality due to diarrhea. According to the findings, the case fatality rates were highly varied across Africa, with the highest rates in Benin, Lesotho, Mali, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.

Methods

• From 2000 through 2015, researchers produced annual estimates of the prevalence and incidence of diarrhea and diarrhea-related mortality across Africa with extensive geographic detail (5 km²).
• For this investigation, they created estimates with the use of Bayesian geostatistical techniques and were calibrated to the results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016.

Results

• The study results showed geographic inequality regarding diarrhea risk in Africa.
• More than 50% of the estimated 330,000 childhood deaths that were attributable to diarrhea in 2015 occurred in 55 of the 782 first-level administrative subdivisions (eg, states).
• Nigeria had the largest difference observed in the within-country mortality rates, with first-level administrative subdivisions differing by a factor of 6 in 2015.