Can a Village Headman Use an Electronic Village Register and a Simplified Community-Based Verbal Autopsy Tool to Record Numbers and Causes of Death in Rural Malawi?

Most people in Africa die without appearing in official vital statistics records. To improve this situation, Malawi has introduced solar-powered electronic village registers (EVR), managed by village headmen, to record birth and death information for production of vital statistics. The EVR is deployed in 83 villages in Traditional Authority Mtema, Lilongwe, which is an area without electricity.

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.

Rapid assessment of Malawi's civil registration and vital statistics system.

In 2010, Malawi adopted a National Registration Act, making the registration of births and deaths compulsory, and efforts to improve Malawi's civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) system are underway. During a participatory-style workshop, stakeholders completed a rapid assessment of the national civil registration and vital statistics systems. While participants discussed and scored each item in a standard tool, the workshop focused on sharing of partners' roles and challenges.