Setting up a demographic surveillance system in Northern Angola

As in many regions of the developing world, the lack of accurate and up to date demographic information in Angola is a handicap to demographic and health research. To overcome this gap, a Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) was designed to support the research activities of CISA Project, a health research centre created in 2007 and located within Dande municipality in northern Angola. Here we report the methodology for setting up the HDSS-Dande as well as the adjustments made to improve the data collection process since the conclusion of the baseline census in April 2010. The HDSS data is instrumental for the support of epidemiological and other health studies.