Fertility is below replacement in Harar Health and Demographic Surveillance System (Harar HDSS), Harar town, Eastern Ethiopia.

Nega Assefa,Agumasie Semahegn

doi:10.1186/s40738-016-0023-8

Abstract

BackgroundPopulation growth is determined by fertility, mortality and migration rates. Fertility is the prime determinant of population growth, which is highly associated with family planning, literacy, urbanization, and expansion of health system. In many part of Africa, its level is more than twice the replacement level. In Ethiopia, a significant decline in fertility mainly in the urban setting has been reported over the past decade, yet there is a paucity of information on the level of the decline. Therefore, this analysis aims to assess the level of fertility in Harar Health and Demographic Surveillance System (Harar HDSS) Eastern Ethiopia.MethodsHarar HDSS is an urban HDSS located in the city of Harar, eastern Ethiopia. It was established in 2011. All the population under surveillance are followed regularly and updated every six month for any change in the population demographic characteristics. Data were collected on a face-to-face interview to record demographic and socio-economic characteristics. Data were entered into customized HRS-2 software used for capturing longitudinal data and exported to computational software for analysis. For this analysis fertility data of the year 2013 were used. Fertility levels were analyzed using descriptive statistics.ResultsThe total population of Harar HDSS in 2013 was 30,055. Of these, 15,701 (52.2 %) were females and 14, 354 (47.8 %) were males. The crude birth rate and general fertility rate for the year 2013 were 20.3 and 64 births per 1000, respectively. In 2013, the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) was 1.9 births per women of reproductive age. The 25 to 29 age group has the highest age-specific fertility rates (128.1 births per 1000 women), followed by the 20 to 24 year old women (89.3 births per 1000 women).ConclusionTotal fertility rate was relatively low. However, there were a significant number of births among adolescent women. Improving and sustaining access for reproductive health care for young women is highly recommended.

Highlights

Population growth is determined by fertility, mortality and migration rates
Africa began experiencing fertility decline associated with demographic transition in the 1980’s, lagging behind the other developing regions of Asia and Latin America and the developed world of North America and Europe [1,2,3]
Study setting and period The study was conducted in Harar city, urban HDSS [8, 12] which is located in Harari People National Regional State, Ethiopia

Summary

Introduction

Population growth is determined by fertility, mortality and migration rates. Fertility is the prime determinant of population growth, which is highly associated with family planning, literacy, urbanization, and expansion of health system. In Ethiopia, a significant decline in fertility mainly in the urban setting has been reported over the past decade, yet there is a paucity of information on the level of the decline. This analysis aims to assess the level of fertility in Harar Health and Demographic Surveillance System (Harar HDSS) Eastern Ethiopia. Ethiopia is no exception to this trend This time the country is assumed to be in the second stage of the demographic transition, defined by falling death rates with mostly unchanged birth rates, resulting in sustained, rapid population growth [6]. Data from the nearby rural Kersa Health and Demographic Surveillance (Kersa HDSS) showed that the population is increasing at a rate of 2.5 % per year since surveillance began in 2007 [8]

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