In This Issue

Excerpt

Reporting of demographic data is very lacking in Africa. This applies particularly to mobile pastoralists in the Sahelian countries. Mobile pastoralists in Chad and other countries of the Sahelian belt in Africa are excluded from health services and their health status is almost unknown. So far, no methods exist for demographic surveillance of mobile populations. Information on fertility and mortality is essential for the planning of public health and social development. Weibel et al. present a method using electronic fingerprint registration, which was applied in a random transect field study on the southeastern shore of lake Chad. Demographic surveillance of such communities can also be extended to their livestock providing more accurate information on their ecological footprint. …