Cohort Profile: The Kaloleni/Rabai Community Health and Demographic Surveillance System

Why was the cohort set up?In many resource-constrained settings, availability of reli-able vital statistics and health information is limited bylack of proper system for civil registration and health infor-mation. This is further limited by the fact that the majorityof population health events, such as births, morbidity andmortality, occur outside the reach of these systems. In par-ticular, obtaining credible data from rural and remote ge-ographies can be even more constrained. The developmentof population-based surveillance systems in resource-constrained countries to monitor demographic and healthevents in these countries has as its basis the limited capac-ity of civil registration and health information systems.Locally rooted surveillance systems that are embedded inthe nexus of existing community structures and localhealth systems can serve to address this gap.