Toward Understanding Death

Evidence-based approaches to preventing child death require evidence; without data on common causes of child mortality, taking effective action to prevent these deaths is difficult at best. Minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS) is a potentially powerful, but nascent, technique to obtain gold standard information on causes of death. The Gates Foundation committed to further establishing the methodology and obtain the highest quality information on the major causes of death for children under 5 years. In 2018, the MITS Surveillance Alliance was launched to implement, refine, and enhance the use of MITS across high mortality settings. The Alliance and its members have contributed to some remarkable opportunities to improve mortality surveillance, and we have only just begun to understand the possibilities on larger scales. This supplement showcases studies conducted by MITS Surveillance Alliance members and represents a significant contribution to the cause-of-death literature from high mortality settings.