Fertility is below replacement in Harar Health and Demographic Surveillance System (Harar HDSS), Harar town, Eastern Ethiopia

BACKGROUND Population growth is determined by fertility, mortality and migration rates. Fertility is the prime determinant of population growth, which is highly associated with family planning, literacy, urbanization, and expansion of health system. In many part of Africa, its level is more than twice the replacement level. In Ethiopia, a significant decline in fertility mainly in the urban setting has been reported over the past decade, yet there is a paucity of information on the level of the decline. Therefore, this analysis aims to assess the level of fertility in Harar Health and Demographic Surveillance System (Harar HDSS) Eastern Ethiopia. METHODS Harar HDSS is an urban HDSS located in the city of Harar, eastern Ethiopia. It was established in 2011. All the population under surveillance are followed regularly and updated every six month for any change in the population demographic characteristics. Data were collected on a face-to-face interview to record demographic and socio-economic characteristics. Data were entered into customized HRS-2 software used for capturing longitudinal data and exported to computational software for analysis. For this analysis fertility data of the year 2013 were used. Fertility levels were analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS The total population of Harar HDSS in 2013 was 30,055. Of these, 15,701 (52.2 %) were females and 14, 354 (47.8 %) were males. The crude birth rate and general fertility rate for the year 2013 were 20.3 and 64 births per 1000, respectively. In 2013, the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) was 1.9 births per women of reproductive age. The 25 to 29 age group has the highest age-specific fertility rates (128.1 births per 1000 women), followed by the 20 to 24 year old women (89.3 births per 1000 women). CONCLUSION Total fertility rate was relatively low. However, there were a significant number of births among adolescent women. Improving and sustaining access for reproductive health care for young women is highly recommended.