Estimación de la mortalidad materna sobre la base de la información censal: experiencias y perspectivas

The need for data on maternal mortality is increasingly acute. The Millennium Development Goals and the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) set objectives, based on the situation in 1990, to be achieved by around 2015. Data used to estimate maternal mortality come from vital statistics, but the coverage and quality of such data in several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean leave much to be desired. Alternative data sources must therefore be sought, which inevitably means turning to population censuses. This paper presents alternative estimates of maternal mortality calculated using census information, discusses recent experiences in Latin America and other regions and makes recommendations on how to include this topic in future censuses. It shows there are drawbacks to using censuses to make this kind of estimates, particularly at subnational level or with regard to subgroups in the population. Including the measurement of maternal mortality in censuses is a subject requiring in-depth study; and where such data is gathered, appropriate methodologies must be employed to evaluate and assimilate all of the components for each case.