Rural-urban differentials in mortality in small area in Ghana

George Wak, Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS)
Martin Bangha, INDEPTH Network
Abraham Oduro, Navrongo Health Research Centre

Even though mortality levels are on the decline globally, the level remains high in the developing world. Another worrying phenomenon is the fact that the magnitude of the problem is obscured by the national average as there are high differences between rural and urban places. The objective of this paper is to examine the mortality differentials between the rural and urban settings in a small community in northern Ghana. Data from the Navrongo Demographic Surveillance System (DSS) for the period 1996 to 2012 are used for this analysis. Under the DSS, fieldworkers visit each household every four months to collect and update information on demographic events including births and deaths. The results showed the existence of significant differences in the various mortality rates between the rural and urban areas. However, the significant differences gradually disappeared over time due to some key policy interventions that were put in place. .