Technical Notes
Infant Mortality Rate
Sources Center for International Health Information (CIHI). Country estimates compiled from the U.S. Bureau of the Census, International Data Base, 1997.
Definition Infant mortality rate is the probability of dying between birth and one year of age. It is expressed as the number of deaths under one year of age per 1,000 live births per annum.
Note Regional averages are weighted by the estimated number of live births.
Under-Five Mortality Rate
Sources Center for International Health Information (CIHI). Estimates were made based on relationships between infant and under-five mortality rates in 150 Demographic and Health and similar surveys.
Definition Under-five mortality rate is the probability of dying between birth and five years of age. It is expressed as the number of deaths under five years of age per 1,000 live births per annum.
Note Regional averages are weighted by the estimated number of live births.
Life Expectancy at Birth
Sources Center for International Health Information (CIHI). Country estimates compiled from the U.S. Bureau of the Census, International Data Base, 1997.
Definition Life expectancy at birth is the average number of years a person can expect to live at current levels of mortality.
Notes Regional averages are weighted by the estimated number of live births. Data are missing for many countries prior to 1985, unlike the life expectancy at birth table that appeared in the 1997 LAC Databook. This arises from a change in sources as CIHI is in the process of shifting from UN to superior Bureau of the Census estimates and projections. At present, the Bureau of the Census time-series data are not complete. As a result data are missing for many countries prior t o 1985.
Total Fertility Rate
Sources Center for International Health Information (CIHI). Country estimates compiled from the U.S. Bureau of the Census, International Data Base, 1998.
Definition Total fertility rate is the average number of children a woman would bear in her lifetime at current age-specific fertility rates.
Notes Regional averages are weighted according to the female population ages 15-49. The female population for 1990-2010 is based on U.S. Bureau of the Census estimates. The female population for 1970-85 is based on United Nati ons estimates.
Contraceptive Prevalence Rate
Sources Center for International Health Information (CIHI). Country estimates compiled from the U.S. Bureau of the Census, International Data Base, 1998, except for the 1991 figure for Honduras, which was provided by the Uni ted Nations. Original estimates were provided by Contraceptive Prevalence, Demographic and Health, Family Health and Reproductive Health surveys.
Definition Contraceptive prevalence rate is the percentage of currently married women (ages 15-44 or 15-49, as indicated) who were using modern methods of contraception at the time of the survey. As used here, the term & quot;married" includes women in unions other than formal marriages.
Antenatal Care, Childbirth, and Children’s Health
Sources Center for International Health Information (CIHI). Estimates in italics compiled from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted during the 1990s, with the following exceptions: estimates for Ecuador, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago and Uruguay are compiled from DHS and nutrition surveys conducted in 1987. The estimate for underweight children in Venezuela is for 1981-1987, from M. Lopes, Contreras, Blanco, et al., "Nutritional Status of Venezuelan Childre n," 14th International Nutrition Congress, 1989. All figures in italics come from UNICEF, The State of the World’s Children 1998.
Definitions Antenatal visits represent the number of mothers who had one or more antenatal visits with a doctor, nurse or trained midwife, expressed as a percentage of live births. Births attended represent the pe rcentage of deliveries attended by a doctor, nurse or trained midwife. Low birth weight is the percentage of newborns who weigh less than 2,500 grams (approximately 5.6 pounds). Exclusive breastfeeding is the percentage of infants 0-3 mont hs of age, inclusive, who receive only breast milk. Complementary breastfeeding is the percentage of infants 6-9 months of age (7-9 months of age in the DR and Peru) who receive solid or semi-solid foods in addition to breast milk. Continued breastfeeding is the percentage of children 12-15 and 20-23 months of age, inclusive, that continue to be breastfed. Underweight children represent the percentage of children 12-23 and 0-59 months of age, inclusive, (3-35 months of age for Tri nidad and Tobago and Argentina), whose weight for age is more than two standard deviations below the internationally accepted norm.
Notes Prenatal and delivery care are estimates of a woman’s access to services as well as her belief in the utility of these services. Prenatal care increases the likelihood of a healthy childbirth. Prenatal care also serves a s an opportunity to identify those women who are more likely to experience a difficult birth. Similarly, delivery care helps to ensure the safety of both the newborn child and the mother.
Vaccination Coverage Rate for Measles
Sources Center for International Health Information (CIHI). Estimates were compiled from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Definition Vaccination coverage rate for measles is the proportion of surviving infants who received measles vaccination before their first birthday. Measles is a contagious febrile disorder commencing with catarrha l symptoms, and marked by the appearance of an eruption of distinct red circular spots, which are slightly raised above the surface of the skin.
Notes Regional averages are weighted by the population under one year of age. Note that regional averages are higher in years for which there are no data for Haiti.
Vaccination Coverage Rate for Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus (DPT-3)
Sources Center for International Health Information (CIHI). Estimates were compiled from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Definition Vaccination coverage rate for DPT-3 is the proportion of surviving infants who received three doses of DPT (diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus) vaccine before their first birthday. Diphtheria is an acute inf ectious disease caused by toxigenic strains of corynebacterium diphtheriae, acquired by contact with an infected person or a carrier of the disease, which is usually confined to the upper respiratory tract. It is characterized by the formation of a tough pseudomembrane attached firmly to the underlying tissue that will bleed if forcibly removed. Tetanus is a painful and usually fatal disease, resulting generally from a wound, and having as its principal symptom persistent spasm of the voluntary m uscles. Pertussis is an acute, highly contagious infection of the respiratory tract, most frequently affecting young children, Symptoms include fever, conjunctivitis and a characteristic cough. Coughing spells end in a whoop caused by the forceful inspiration of air.
Notes Regional averages are weighted by the population under one year of age. Note that regional averages are higher in years for which there are no data for Haiti. DPT is a four-dose schedule (the first dose is considered &qu ot;0") for children resulting in lifelong immunity to diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus. As the third dose signifies the completion of the series, this dose is used to estimate coverage rates. The estimate of vaccination coverage rates is used to m easure the ability of a country to provide universal child immunization. The World Summit goal for immunization is the maintenance of 90 percent coverage among children under 1 year of age.
Vaccination Coverage Rates for Polio (OPV-3)
Sources Center for International Health Information (CIHI). Estimates were compiled from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Definition Vaccination coverage rate for polio-3 is the proportion of surviving infants who received three doses of oral polio vaccine before their first birthday. Polio is an epidemic viral infection which attack s the motor meurons of the anterior horns in the brain stem and spinal cord, the effects of which are crippling.
Notes Regional averages are weighted by the population under one year of age. Note that regional averages are higher in years for which there are no data for Haiti. OPV-3 is a four-dose schedule (the first dose is considered & quot;0") for children resulting in lifelong immunity to the poliovirus. As the third dose signifies the completion of the series, this dose is used to estimate coverage rates.
The estimate of vaccination coverage rates is used to measure the ability of a country to provide universal child immunization. The World Summit goal for immunization is the maintenance of 90 percent coverage among children under 1 yea r of age. While the Americas have been certified "polio-free" the vaccination of children with OPV continues until the disease is eradicated from the entire world, due to the possibility of the poliovirus being brought into the region from a no npolio-free region.
Oral Rehydration Therapy Use Rates
Sources Center for International Health Information (CIHI). Estimates were compiled from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS). Data not taken from WHO or DHS are italicized.
Definition Oral rehydration therapy (ORT) rate is the percentage of all cases of diarrhea, and resulting dehydration, in children under age 5 treated with oral rehydration solution (ORS) and/or a recommended home fluid. ORS is a salt, sugar and clean water solution. Recommended home fluids include breastfeeding and/or other clean water solutions.
Notes Regional averages are weighted by the population under one year of age. Data for 1990 and 1991 are combined because WHO, in an effort to accelerate the reporting cycle, requested that countries report 1991 data in ealry 1 992 rather than report 1990 data in late 1991. ORT coverage rates provide an estimate of the proportion of
children under age 5 who suffered from diarrhea and received appropriate treatment. UNICEF maintains that when used effectively, ORT can reduce diarrhea-related mortality by 90 percent. The World Summit set the goal of "reduction by 50 percent in the deaths due to diarrhea in children under the age of five years and 25 per cent reduction in the diarrhea incidence rate."
HIV Prevalence
Sources United Nations Joint Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO), Report on the Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic, June 1998.
Definition Estimated number of people living with HIV/AIDS include all people with HIV infection, whether or not they have developed symptoms of AIDS, alive at the end of 1997. Adult rate reflects the estimated number of adults living with HIV/AIDS at the end of 1997 divided by the 1997 adult population. Estimated AIDS deaths, adults and children, reflects the estimated number of adults and children who died of AIDS during 1997. Estimated AIDS deaths , cumulative, reflects the estimated number of adults and children who have died of AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic. Estimated AIDS cases, adults and children cumulative, reflects the estimated number of AIDS cases in adults and child ren that have occurred since the beginning of the epidemic. HIV or AIDS first reported, lists the year that the first case of HIV or AIDS was reported by the country. Orphans, cumulative, reflects the estimated number of children who have lost their mother or both parents to AIDS (while they were under age 15) since the beginning of the epidemic.
Notes The global HIV epidemic currently involves two viruses: HIV-1 and HIV-2. Data in this table refer to both viruses. HIV-1 is the dominant type worldwide. HIV-2 is found principally in West Africa, but cases have been reported in East Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America. While the means of transmission for the two viruses are the same, HIV-2 appears to be less easily transmitted than HIV-1 and the progression from HIV-2 infection to AIDS appears to be slower t han that for HIV-1. AIDS is a late-stage infection characterized by a severely weakened immune system that can no longer ward off life-threatening infections and cancers.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]