MEASURE DHS

For 25 years, ICF Macro has played a major role in the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) initiatives to help developing countries collect and use data to monitor and evaluate population, health, and nutrition programs. The Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) activities have expanded to meet emerging health needs, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, domestic violence, and adult health. We also have incorporated new methods and technology into our surveys, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) for easy data collection, geographic information systems (GIS) to geocode data by location, and biomarker tests for HIV, anemia and a host of other infections.

Since 1984, the MEASURE DHS project has provided technical assistance to more than 240 surveys in 75 countries, advancing global understanding of health and population trends in developing countries. DHS has earned a worldwide reputation for collecting and disseminating accurate, nationally representative data on fertility, family planning, and maternal and child health as well as child survival, HIV/AIDS, malaria, nutrition, women’s empowerment, and health inequities. In recent years, DHS has also expanded to include questions on female genital cutting, domestic violence, and adult health. The strategic objective of MEASURE DHS is to improve and institutionalize the collection and use of data by host countries for program monitoring and evaluation and for policy development decisions.

Innovation will continue to be a driving force as we begin a new 5-year phase of MEASURE DHS. Online tools allowing users to compile DHS data and map key indicators have facilitated the dissemination and utilization of DHS data around the globe. Tools such as the STATcompiler, STATmapper, HIVmapper, and HIV/AIDS Survey Indicators Database are regularly updated with new survey data. DHS has also recently added the HIV Spatial Data Repository, which is a new website especially designed for geographic information system (GIS) users interested in mapping HIV indicators. The website is one of the first in the world to provide HIV data, primarily from developing countries, for GIS purposes.

For the new 5-year (2008-2013) project, ICF Macro will continue to expand efforts to build local capacity in data collection and use in close collaboration with our project partners: The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, PATH, CAMRIS, Blue Raster, and The Futures Institute.

National Family Health Survey in India

The 2005-06 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) is the third in the NFHS series of surveys, providing national and state level data on population, health and nutrition. For the first time, the survey measured HIV prevalence at the national level and for selected states (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh). The NFHS-3 survey found an HIV prevalence rate of 0.28 percent for the population age 15-49. The important new information about HIV prevalence from NFHS-3 has spurred the Government of India and international agencies to reduce the official estimate of Indians living with HIV from more than 5 million persons to 2.47 million. This change has had a major impact on the global estimate of persons living with HIV. In addition, the overwhelming levels of malnutrition and anemia among children sparked swift and decisive action from the Prime Minister. Upon release of the data, the Prime Minister sent letters to the Chief Ministers in India’s 29 states requiring them to take measures to improve child nutrition.

NFHS-3 is based on a sample of households which is representative at the national and state levels. The survey conducted interviews with almost 199,000 women age 15-49 and men age 15-54 throughout India. NFHS-3 also tested more than 100,000 women and men for HIV and 214,000 adults and young children for anemia.

Uganda Service Provision Assessment (SPA) Survey

The Service Provision Assessment surveys focus on the quality, infrastructure, utilization, and availability of health services provided in public and private facilities throughout a country. ICF Macro provided technical assistance for the 2007 Uganda Service Provision Assessment Survey (USPA), which was carried out by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Uganda Bureau of Statistics. The USPA collected data from a nationally representative sample of 491 health care facilities throughout Uganda, covering all levels of facilities. The survey found major shortages of essential medicines and a lack of basic infrastructure, such as running water. On a more positive note, care for sick children and treatment for malaria and STIs are almost universally available. The results from the survey provide the Government of Uganda, particularly the Ministry of Health, with the data they need to begin making major improvements to the quality of health services provided to their citizens.

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