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Background: Commencing in 1998, the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been a humanitarian disaster, but has drawn little response from the international community. To document rates and trends in mortality and provide recommendations for political and humanitarian interventions, we did a nationwide mortality survey during April-July, 2004. Methods: We used a stratified three-stage, household-based cluster sampling technique. Of 511 health zones, 49 were excluded because of insecurity, and four were purposely selected to allow historical comparisons. From the remainder, probability of selection was proportional to population size. Geographical distribution and size of cluster determined how households were selected: systematic random or classic proximity sampling. Heads of households were asked about all deaths of household members during January, 2003, to April, 2004. Findings: 19 500 households were visited. The national crude mortality rate of 2·1 deaths per 1000 per month (95% CI 1·6-2·6) was 40% higher than the sub-Saharan regional level (1·5), corresponding to 600 000 more deaths than would be expected during the recall period and 38 000 excess deaths per month. Total death toll from the conflict (1998-2004) was estimated to be 3·9 million. Mortality rate was higher in unstable eastern provinces, showing the effect of insecurity. Most deaths were from easily preventable and treatable illnesses rather than violence. Regression analysis suggested that if the effects of violence were removed, all-cause mortality could fall to almost normal rates. Interpretation: The conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo remains the world's deadliest humanitarian crisis. To save lives, improvements in security and increased humanitarian assistance are urgently needed.

Background: Systematic reviews of health promotion and public health interventions are increasingly being conducted to assist public policy decision making. Many intra-country initiatives have been established to conduct systematic reviews in their relevant public health areas. The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organisation established to conduct and publish systematic reviews of healthcare interventions, is committed to high quality reviews that are regularly updated, published electronically, and meeting the needs of the consumers. Aims: To identify global priorities for Cochrane systematic reviews of public health topics. Methods: Systematic reviews of public health interventions were identified and mapped against global health risks. Global health organisations were engaged and nominated policy-urgent titles, evidence based selection criteria were applied to set priorities. Results: 26 priority systematic review titles were identified, addressing interventions such as community building activities, pre-natal and early infancy psychosocial outcomes, and improving the nutrition status of refugee and displaced populations. Discussion: The 26 priority titles provide an opportunity for potential reviewers and indeed, the Cochrane Collaboration as a whole, to address the previously unmet needs of global health policy and research agencies.