Estimating Mortality Indicators and Causes of Death Using ANACoD Tool from Civil Registration Data of Iganga-Mayuge HDSS in Uganda

Background: Every country requires key population and mortality data to plan for its citizens. Using ANACoD tool, the current study presents the population structure changes for Iganga Mayuge HDSS site in Uganda for the years 2007-2016, computes basic mortality indicators and generates the leading causes of death by age and gender from the civil registration data. Methods: : Secondary data on verbal autopsies as well as the socio-economic data was analysed using Analysis of Mortality levels And Causes-of-Death (ANACoD) tool freely provided by the World Health Organisation. Results: : 3,947 deaths occurred with majority deaths for males (51.5%). Most deaths occurred among the elderly 60+ years (28.1%) and under one (infants) children (23.5%). The population structure has shifted from more infant mortalities (32.1 per 1000 live births) in the year 2007 to less infant mortality (28.1 per 1000 live births) in 2016. Crude Death rate reduced from 4.4 to 3.1 per 1000 population. Life expectancy has increased from 73.7 to 78.7 years. Malaria, HIV, accidents and NCDs remain the major causes of death among adults. In Children, malaria, birth trauma, prematurity and malnutrition are the leading causes of death. Conclusion: In conclusion, malaria remains the main leading cause of death especially for under-five children for the IMHDSS in Uganda. There is need for strong public health programmes such as sleeping in treated insecticide mosquito nets. Among adults, injury and the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) of Hypertensive disease and Diabetes mellitus have become the more life-threatening cause of death in recent years especially for the older population in the IMHDSS. Improvement in lifestyle among the population through balanced diet feeding and regular exercises is therefore key. Lastly, the paper calls for a strong Civil Registration and Vital Statistics System in Uganda where all deaths in the community and health facilities are effectively registered.