DHS in the News

Journalists worldwide write about The DHS Program results. The dissemination of DHS, SPA and HIV data is often widely covered by media in survey countries, but journalists also use The DHS Program data throughout the year as background information for their stories, or to compare health and development indicators across countries. These data are also used by journalists in the United States and other developed countries, as it is considered the gold standard of population, health and nutrition data. Below are some examples of recent news coverage. Please note: The links below are to websites outside The DHS Program.

Feb 22, 2021
1.15 Million Children, 122,472 communities, 57 countries, 30 years: New dataset combines Demographic and Health Surveys with geographic information systems

Zhe Guo, Wahid Quabili, Liangzhi You, and Derek Headey
IFPRI BLOG (Washington, DC, USA)

"...To close these data gaps, the Advancing Research on Nutrition and Agriculture (ARENA) project—funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the IFPRI-led CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH)—constructed a large multi-level, multi-country dataset combining individual and household level nutrition, health, and socioeconomic data from the Demographic and Health Surveys with a wide variety of community-level geographic information systems (GIS) data on agricultural production, agroecology, climate, demography, and infrastructure..."

https://www.ifpri.org/blog/115-million-children-122472-communities-57-countries-30-years-new-dataset-combines-demographic
Feb 21, 2021
OPINION: FGM is a serious cultural, health problem that must be stopped

Alvin Mwangi
CITIZEN DIGITAL (Nairobi, Kenya)

"...According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) 2014, 21% of girls and women aged 15-49 have been circumcised..."

https://citizentv.co.ke/blogs/opinion-fgm-is-a-serious-cultural-health-problem-that-must-be-stopped-6909103/
Feb 18, 2021
Adequate spacing between births may reduce stunting in India

NATIONAL HERALD (New Delhi, India)

"...Using data from the fourth round of the Indian Demographic and Health Survey, the team confirmed that birth order affects height when births occur less than three years apart, with height gap increasing between later-born children..."

https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/health/adequate-spacing-between-births-may-reduce-stunting-in-india
Feb 16, 2021
Solon seeks probe into rising cases of abuse vs women, kids during pandemic

Neil Arwin Mercado
INQUIRER.NET (Manila, Philippines)

"...Citing the 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority, Villar said only one out of three Filipino women who have experienced abuse sought help to stop it..."

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1396402/solon-seeks-probe-into-rising-cases-of-abuse-vs-women-kids-during-pandemic
Feb 12, 2021
Gender violence: Kenya’s growing shadow epidemic

John Muchangi
THE STAR (Kenya)

"...The 2014 Demographic and Health Survey showed at least 45 per cent of women and girls aged 15-49 have experienced physical violence and 14 per cent have experienced sexual violence..."

https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2021-02-12-gender-violence-kenyas-growing-shadow-epidemic/