Scaling up electronic village registers for measuring vital statistics in rural villages in Malawi.

Eighty-three villages without electricity in Mtema Traditional Authority, Lilongwe District, Malawi. To describe 1) the expansion of the electronic village register (EVR) to 83 villages in Mtema Traditional Authority, 2) the challenges encountered and changes made to render the system robust and user-friendly, 3) the value propositions developed to increase the system's desirability, and 4) the results of the village register. Descriptive study.

An electronic register for vital registration in a rural village with no electricity in Malawi.

Setting: Chalasa village, Traditional Authority Mtema, Lilongwe District, Malawi.

Objectives: To report on the deployment of an electronic register in a rural village with no electricity. Specific objectives were to document 1) challenges in setting up the electronic village register (EVR); 2) demographics of village residents, along with births and deaths over three quarters; and 3) the costs of setting up the system.