Economic Crisis and Changes in Mortality Due to Infectious and Parasitic Diseases in Antananarivo, Madagascar

Madagascar was severely affected by the economic crisis that hit sub-Saharan Africa in the 1980’s. The crisis, exacerbated by a high degree of political instability, led to food shortages in the mid-1980s. The impact on, mortality is not well known, owing to a lack of statistics for the whole island. Systematics analysis of the registers of the Municipal Hygiene Office (Bureau municipal d’hygiène: BMH) in Antananarivo is used to show the trend of mortality by cause in the capital since 1976. The food crisis substantially reduced life expectancy, which did not return to its 1976 level until 2000. Nutritional deficiencies and infectious diseases played a prominent role in the reduction in life expectancy. Mortality due to nutritional deficiencies fell as soon as the food supply improved, but mortality due to infectious diseases remains high, particularly among males aged 10-50, who are also particularly vulnerable to the increase in man-made diseases, including road accidents and alcoholism