Magnitude of regional and sex differentials in pre-AIDS adult mortality in Cameroon (WITHDRAWN)

Martin Bangha, INDEPTH Network

Knowing the extent and nature of geographical and social inequalities in a population is very useful for understanding demographic processes and making informed projections. In this paper we use census data to explore the dimensions of pre-AIDS adult mortality in Cameroon, a population which has experienced severe economic dislocations lately. In particular, we explore the magnitude of regional and sex differentials in adult mortality using parental survival data from the 1987 census. Our data show that an average Cameroon female who survived to age 5 could expect to live on average 5.6 years longer than the male. In more conventional terms, a male who survived through childhood (to age 15) under the pre-AIDS mortality conditions, is 1.5 times more likely to encounter premature death (before age 50) than a female and a male at age 30 is likewise 1.4 times more likely to die before age 65 than the female.