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The Kaya Health and Demographic Surveillance System (Kaya HDSS) is located in the North Central region of Burkina Faso in the Kaya health district. The main purposes of the Kaya HDSS are to study demographic, infectious and chronic disease indicators in the district, to observe changes in health over time, evaluate health programmes and to provide a basis for policy decisions and capacity building in order to enhance the health of the community. Kaya HDSS was established in late 2007 following a baseline census of the population of the HDSS area. Homes were visited every 6 months to collect demographic information and data on morbidity and mortality. A verbal autopsy questionnaire is used to collect information on the causes of death. The Kaya HDSS reached 64 480 residents in 10 587 households by the end of 2011, with an average of 6.1 ± 4.3 persons per household. The site is 70% urban and 30% rural. The population is 51.8% female. Over 55% of deaths occur outside health facilities. Malaria is the leading cause of death, primarily affecting children under 5 years of age (44%) and those 5 to 14 years old (36%). The Kaya HDSS data can be obtained by sending a request via the HDSS website (http://kaya-hdss.org/). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]