The DHS Program

Calverton, MD - More than 70 percent of health care facilities in Uganda offer basic health services--curative care for sick children, immunisation, treatment of sexually transmitted infections, and family planning; 45 percent of facilities provide 24-hour services for childbirth. Preventive care and counseling are far less available. Lack of running water and shortages of some types of medicines compromise the quality of care offered to children and adults.

Calverton, MD - The fertility rate is holding steady in Azerbaijan at about 2 children per woman, according to a new national health survey. The State Statistical Committee released the final report for the 2006 Azerbaijan Demographic and Health Survey (AzDHS) recently at a ceremony in Baku. It is the first DHS ever conducted in Azerbaijan. More than 8,000 women and 2,500 men across the country were interviewed for the survey.

Calverton, MD - According to the nationally representative 2007 Liberia Demographic and Health Survey (LDHS), 2 percent of Liberian adults age 15-49 are HIV-positive. This low prevalence rate is promising, especially when compared to neighboring countries such as Côte d'Ivoire where HIV prevalence has reached 5 percent.

Calverton, MD - HIV tests among thousands of men and women provide a sobering look at the international epidemic. A new publication, HIV Prevalence Estimates from the Demographic and Health Surveys, summarizes the results of population-based HIV tests in 28 countries among more than 400,000 men and women worldwide.

Calverton, MD - In Pakistan, 1 in 89 women will die of maternal causes, according to the 2006-07 Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS). Among women age 12 to 49, complications of pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death, accounting for 20 percent of all deaths for women of childbearing age. The National Institute of Population Studies recently released the final report of the 2006-07 PDHS at a ceremony in Islamabad.