Health Issues in Bawa

At the outset, it is very difficult to assess the most urgent health issues in the village. No demographic data has ever been recorded in the history of the village. We have commissioned a census of all individuals residing in the village. We hope to have the census completed by August 1. We are fortunate in having mortality data for 1995-2004 acquired from the medical center in Dschang. Undoubtedly, this data under-reports mortality but it does provide a rough overview and basis for assessment of the health issues in the village. Estimates given are based on this data and assume a population of 500 full-time residents for the village. Estimates will be refined after the census is complete. In the 10 year period 1995-2004, 189 deaths were recorded for the village of Bawa. In the 8 year period 1995-2002, on average 3.1% of the population died each year. Note that this number has more than doubled to an average of 6.5% for 2003 and 2004 with AIDS deaths beginning to appear.		Nguessong Victor, Biomedical Laboratory Technician, The Provincial Hospital, Bafoussam
Diseases of Children: In the 10 year period 1995-2004, deaths of 47 children under the age of 11 have been recorded from Bawa. This accounts for 25.3% of total mortality in the village. All of these deaths were attributable to either infectious diseases (72.3%) or a form of malnutrition called kwashiorkor, that is caused by protein deficiency associated with dietary issues at weaning (27.7%). Of deaths associated with infectious diseases in children under 11, the 4 diseases responsible were malaria (64.7%), typhoid (14.7%), pneumonia (14.7%), and intestinal helminthiases (5.9%).