[An example of the application of factorial analysis of correspondences to infant mortality and its prevention in a rural area of West Africa].

A retrospective study through questionnaire was made among over 800 women of a Pre-Sahel region of Mali. It confirmed the very high infant and child mortality in this population: over 250% mortality under 1 year of age and over 400% under 6 years of age. The factorial analysis of correspondences proved adequate to determine the main characteristics of the local mortality pattern. In chronological order, the most important causes are obstetrical factors (1st day of life), umbilical tetanus (1 week to 1 month of age), malaria (1 month to 1 year of age), pneumopathies (including pertussis and lung complications of measles), toxicoses and nutritional syndromes (over 1 year of age). Preventive measures at various levels are proposed on the basis of these findings. They belong to three broad groups: -Overall socioeconomic development with effective participation of the rural communities concerned. -Development of an appropriate primary health care structure, with a primary health care team in each village. -Strengthening of the programmes of control of the most important communicable diseases. Such simple and cheap actions should, given a clear political will of the national authorities and a modicum of trust in the future on the part of local leaders, be rapidly implementable even in the most underprivileged countries and bring a significant amount of progress in the rural areas.