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Objectives: To describe trends of gross and specific mortality rates for all five countries of the Great Maghreb and to identify the typology and the main causes of death during the period 1990-2015., Methods: This is an observational and descriptive study of causes of death in the Great Maghreb (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania and Libya) using the database Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). Causes of death were categorized according to the IHME into three categories: "Communicable Diseases", "Non Communicable Diseases" and "Trauma". These following tracer years (1995, 2005, 2015) were considered in the study of global and specific causes of death by country, disease group, sex and age group., Results: During the period 1990-2015, the general trend in gross mortality rates was going down, reaching in 2015 rates that varied from 547/100 000 inhabitants in Tunisia to 437/100 000 inhabitants in Algeria. The trend in specific mortality from Communicable Diseases has been declining, particularly in Mauritania. Among the "Top 10" list of causes of death, four to eight were "Non Communicable Diseases" including ischemic heart disease, which was ranked first in the Maghreb except Mauritania. For children under 5 years old, prematurity was the leading cause of death in the five Maghreb countries in 2015., Conclusion: This analysis of causes of death in the Great Maghreb confirmed the similarity of the epidemiological transition and health priorities. Hence the urgency of developing common North African strategies for monitoring, training and intervention in public health.

Background: Prematurity is the leading cause of death in neonates, accounting for 75% of neonatal mortality, and the second leading cause of death among children under 5 years of age., Objective: To study the extent of prematurity in the Great Maghreb, concerning its various aspects: frequency, risk factors and complications., Method: We conducted a systematic review of the literature by searching for all data from the Greater Maghreb related to prematurity published between 2000 and 2018. The search strategy relied on the Medline and Google Scholar databases. Prematurity is defined as any birth occurring at a gestational age less than 37 weeks of amenorrhea., Results: In the Maghreb, the prevalence of prematurity ranged from 6.7% to 15.4%. The main risk factors were infections and chronic maternal conditions, extreme maternal ages and adverse socio-economic conditions. The mortality rate among premature infants ranged from 28% to 45%. Short-term complications were dominated by respiratory and metabolic disorders and infections., Conclusion: In view of the serious complications and high mortality caused by prematurity, prevention strategies must be put in place. These should be based on the development of pregnancy surveillance programs, the fight against precariousness and the upgrading of neonatal care structures.