Homicide deaths in sub-Saharan Africa: a review 1970-2004

Homicide is predicted to increase globally. The foundation for explanatory models of violence in low-income countries is rudimentary. The objective of this article is to describe peer-reviewed literature about homicide in sub-Saharan African (SSA) from 1970-2004. Searches in PubMed, OVID, and African Journals on-Line (AJOL) using the key words / phrases "homicide"', "injury death", and "Africa", identified 37 articles. Articles were excluded if it was impossible to distinguish homicide from suicide or unintentional injury death. Of the 37 articles, 30 contained information about homicide. According to the reviewed literature, throughout Africa, males are 4-10 times more likely to die of homicide than females. While children seem to be protected, adults (20-29 years) are at highest risk. The most common mechanism of homicide appears to be sharp instruments. The estimations depicting Africa as the world's second most violent continent were made from scanty data. Regional variations exist but the lack of data also makes it impossible to answer basic questions related to proportionate mortality, occupation of the deceased, ethnic or national variations, precipitating factors, or victim-perpetrator relationships. Temporal trends cannot be ascertained. In an attempt to bridge the gaps in existing knowledge about homicide, the World Health Organization (WHO) is coordinating and supporting efforts by countries to set up injury mortality surveillance systems, as a first step towards monitoring the incidence and prevalence of violence.