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.

Nov 27, 2020
Using Satellite Imagery and Nighttime Lights to Understand the Impact of COVID-19 across Southeast Asian Cities

Stephanie Sy, Anica Araneta, Hanif Rahemtulla, Bruno Carrasco, and Stella Balgos
THINKING MACHINES (Singapore)

"...Combining nighttime lights with data from the 2017 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) from 27,496 households nationwide, we found that wealthier urban areas in the Philippines are still affected by lockdown as nighttime lights continued to dim since February 2020 (Figure 7). In comparison, rural areas that ranked lower on the wealth index with more relaxed lockdown measures have shown some recovery in terms of the brightness of lights from April to August 2020. For the top 5% of the wealthiest clusters in the Philippines, there was a -112% dimming from February to August 2020, while the remaining 95% dimmed by only -22% over the same time period (Figure 8)..."

https://stories.thinkingmachin.es/nighttime-lights-covid-19-southeast-asia/
Nov 25, 2020
Time to tackle violence against women in Mali

Ornella Moderan
ISS TODAY (Mali)

"...A 2018 National Institute of Statistics demographic and health survey showed that one in two Malian women aged 15 to 49 had suffered acts of physical or sexual violence. [...] The survey also found that 79% of women and 47% of men considered physical violence by a man against his female partner to be normal and justifiable..."

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-11-25-time-to-tackle-violence-against-women-in-mali/
Nov 18, 2020
During pandemic, some Ugandan Catholic women consider using birth control

Tonny Onyulo
CRUX (Uganda)

"...Uganda has an average fertility rate of five children per woman. The rate of contraceptive use is 31 percent, while 19 percent of women 15 to 49 do not want to get pregnant but have no access to family planning, according to the 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey..."

https://cruxnow.com/church-in-africa/2020/11/during-pandemic-some-ugandan-catholic-women-consider-using-birth-control/
Nov 13, 2020
The Worrisome Data From Demographic Health Surveys On Under-5 Mortality

Ernest Nzor
LEADERSHIP (Nigeria)

"...The Nigerian Demographic Health Surveys (NDHSs) under-five mortality shows that Nigeria has declined from 201 per 1,000 live births in 2003 to 132 per 1000 live births in 2018, a 35 per cent decline in 15 years. Most of this decline occurred in children 1 to 59 months of age with a smaller decline in neonatal mortality..."

https://leadership.ng/the-worrisome-data-from-demographic-health-surveys-on-under-5-mortality/
Nov 11, 2020
Glimmer of hope?

Huma Khawar
DAWN (Pakistan)

"...Today, Pakistani children have access to two pneumonia-fighting vaccines included in the essential immunisation list; like the other vaccines, they are administered free of cost. Despite this incentive, only 55 per cent of children complete their essential vaccination course in [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa], according to the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey, 2017-2018..."

https://www.dawn.com/news/1589723