This section contains MEASURE DHS press releases.

2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004

2007

• Tanzanian Health Care Facilities Offer all Basic Services, but Shortage of Commodities and Poor Infection Control are Major Challenges, According to a New Survey
  December 5, 2007
  More than 70 percent of all health facilities in Tanzania offer a full range of basic health services.  Curative care for sick children is almost universally available, and three in four services provide antenatal care and childbirth. At the same time, lack of running water and shortage of some types of medicines compromise the quality of care offered to children and adults. These problems are found nationwide, in both governmental and non-governmental facilities, and in all types of facilities, according to a new survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.

• Indian Government Releases Final Report for New National Health Survey
  October 15, 2007
  The much-awaited final report of the 2005-06 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) was released on Thursday, October 11th, by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare at an official ceremony at the Ashok Hotel, New Delhi. The report offers the first-ever comprehensive picture of the health and well-being of India’s men, women, and children.

• Study Reveals Marriage Is Leading Source of New HIV Infections
  July 12, 2007
  A new Macro International Inc./MEASURE DHS study authored by Vinod Mishra and others challenges widespread beliefs about which partner brings HIV into marriages. The new study finds that in 4 of the 11 countries studied, women were the infected partner in a majority of cases. Most HIV prevention efforts have been aimed at men. The study showed, however, a significant proportion of women’s infections occurred ten or more years into the marriage. Cote d’Ivoire and Kenya lead the percentage of female discordant infections, at 62%. But even in Lesotho, where the female-positive rate was lowest, female discordant HIV infections stood at 34%.
• Postpartum Care Scarce in Developing World, New DHS Report Finds
  July 10, 2007
  In much of the developing world, as many as 7 out of 10 women do not receive any postpartum care after delivery, according to a new comparative report from the MEASURE DHS Project. Postpartum Care: Levels and Determinants in Developing Countries takes a close look at postpartum care in 30 developing countries, using data from Demographic and Health Surveys conducted between 1999 and 2004.
• New Zimbabwe Survey Finds One in Six Adults Has HIV
  July 3, 2007
  One in six adults in Zimbabwe (18 percent) has HIV, according to the new 2005-06 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS). The ZDHS findings show that the HIV epidemic is generalized across all provinces in Zimbabwe, ranging from 15 percent in Masvingo to 21 percent in Matabeleland South. The final report was released today.
• Children’s Health Worsening in Zimbabwe
  July 3, 2007
  In the face of economic hardship, Zimbabweans are struggling to preserve their families’ health. According to the new 2005-06 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS), children’s health is worsening as vaccination rates drop and malnutrition and anemia increase. The final report was released today.
• New National Survey Finds 19 Percent of the Swazi Population Age 2 and Older Has HIV; Other Health Indicators Show Improvements
  June 28, 2007
  Among the general population ages 2 to 60 plus, HIV prevalence is 19 percent, according to the preliminary findings of the new 2006-07 Swaziland Demographic and Health Survey (SDHS). More than one in four adults age 15-49 in Swaziland (26 percent) is infected with HIV. The Central Statistical Office released the preliminary SDHS results on Wednesday in Mbabane. The survey interviewed residents and obtained blood samples for anaemia and HIV testing in a representative national sample of Swazi households between July 2006 and February 2007.
• Ministry of Health Releases Results Of New Armenia Demographic and Health Survey
  May 30, 2007
  Earlier today, the Ministry of Health released the final report for the 2005 Armenia Demographic and Health Survey (ADHS). The survey, which interviewed nearly 8,000 men and women across the country, was implemented by the National Statistical Service and the Ministry of Health. The ADHS found that Armenia’s total fertility rate (TFR) is 1.7, the same as it was three years preceding the survey. The TFR represents the total number of children a woman will bear during her reproductive years.
• Niger DHS Survey Shows Some Improvements in Child Health, but Maternal Health Remains Poor
  May 30, 2007
  According to the recently released 2006 Niger DHS Multiple Indicator Survey, vaccination for children has improved, but women’s fertility remains very high and there has been no improvement in maternal health since the last survey was conducted in 1998.
• Maternal and Child Heath Making Slow Progress, According to New Haiti DHS
  May 25, 2007
  Maternal and child health in Haiti have improved only slightly in the last twenty years, and many health indicators remain troubling, according to the latest Demographic and Health Survey, released in May.
• Haiti DHS Finds More Than 2 Percent of Haitians are HIV Positive
  May 25, 2007
  According to the new Haiti Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), 2.2 percent of Haitians are HIV-positive, the highest rate in the world outside Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Nepal Experiences Big Drop in Fertility
  May 24, 2007
  Fertility in Nepal has dropped by one child over the past five years, according to the newly released 2006 Demographic and Health Survey.  Currently, women have an average of 3.1 births during their lifetimes.  This represents a significant decline in fertility since 2001 when women were having an average of 4.1 births.  This decline is due in part to the continued increase in the use of family planning.  Almost half (44 percent) of currently married women are now using a modern method of family planning.   Use of modern methods has increased dramatically in the past ten years, from 26 percent in 1996 and from 35 percent in 2001.  The most popular methods are female sterilization (18 percent) and injectables (10 percent).  Use of modern methods varies by region of residence: only about one-quarter of married women living in Far-western Hill use a modern method compared to 65 percent of women in Far-western Terai. 
• New National Cambodian Survey Finds Big Decline In Childhood Mortality
  May 22, 2007
  The newly released 2005 Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey (CDHS) shows a remarkable decline in childhood mortality over the past five years. Both infant and under-five mortality have declined by more than 30% since 2000. Currently, there are 66 infant deaths per 1000 live births, down from 95 deaths per 1000 live births five years ago.
• Less than One Percent of Cambodian Adults are HIV Positive, But Misconceptions about HIV are Widespread
  May 22, 2007
  Results from the recently released 2005 Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey (CDHS) indicate that 0.6 percent of Cambodian adults age 15-49 are infected with HIV.  Prevalence is the same for women and men.  The new survey used population-based methods rather than sentinel surveillance. The national sentinel surveillance rate is 1.6 percent, but this method only tests pregnant women at government health facilities. Therefore, the 1.6 percent figure is not representative of the entire population.
• International Women’s Day 2007
  March 8, 2007
  While International Women’s Day celebrates the achievements of women worldwide, it is also a time to acknowledge the challenges women confront every day. For women in developing countries, many of these challenges are health-related. Worldwide, women struggle with anemia, lack of family planning services, sexually transmitted infections, and domestic violence.
• Little Improvement in Women’s Lives Since 1994 Cairo Conference
  January 18, 2007
  Limited progress has been made in improving the health and well-being of women worldwide over the past decade. The publication “Women’s Lives and Experiences: Changes in the Past Ten Years” takes a close look at how women’s lives have improved since the landmark 1994 International Conference on Population and Development. Overall, the pace of change has been slow, and in some places, women are actually facing more hardships than before.

2006

• ”World AIDS Day 2006” – New Data from MEASURE DHS
  December 01, 2006
  Twenty-five years after the discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), millions of people in developing countries still do not understand how the virus is transmitted or how they can protect themselves from it. For the past five years, the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) project, with primary funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), has been collecting nationally representative data to better understand the dynamics of the epidemic in less developed countries.
• 2005 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey Results Reveal Lower HIV Prevalence than Previous Estimates
  September 29, 2006
  The Central Statistical Agency along with the Ministry of Health released the results of the 2005 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey in Addis Ababa on Monday, September 18th. The major results include an HIV prevalence rate of 1.9 percent , improvements in child health, stagnation in women’s health, and a large increase in the use of family planning.
• Six Percent of Adults in Uganda Are Infected with HIV
  July 24, 2006
  According to the newly released Uganda HIV/AIDS Sero-Behavioural Survey (UHSBS), approximately 6 percent of men and women age 15-49 in Uganda are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. This rate is similar to other reported national estimates of HIV infection. However, the prevalence of another preventable sexually transmitted infection, herpes simplex 2 (HVS-2), is much higher--44 percent among the population tested. In addition, 10 percent of a sub-sample of respondents is infected with another sexually transmitted infection, hepatitis B.
• Kenya Health Care Services Battle AIDS
  March 20, 2006
  Just over half of Kenya’s hospitals and 12 percent of its health centers now provide antiretroviral treatment (ART) for people living with HIV, according to a recently published national survey. While ART services are still not available to everyone, Kenya’s health care system is increasingly providing these life-saving medicines as well as other prevention and treatment services for people facing AIDS.
• One in Four Adults in Lesotho is HIV Positive
  February 24
  One in Four Adults in Lesotho is HIV Positive and those in their 30s Are the Most Infected (Around 40%) according to the 2004 Lesotho Demographic and Health Survey (LDHS). LDHS included population-level HIV testing for the first time. Testing was anonymous and strictly voluntary. According to LDHS data, 24% of adults are HIV-positive.
• Tanzania Sees Improvement in Child Health, While Risky Sexual Behavior Remains Common
  February 21
  The 2004-05 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS) released on Wednesday revealed that health indicators for Tanzanian children have improved markedly in the past five years, while family planning and fertility rates are unchanged from the last survey conducted in 1999.
• Many Tanzanian Children Not Sleeping Under Insecticide-Treated Nets
  February 21
  Only 16 percent of children under age five slept under an insecticide-treated net (ITN) the night before their households were interviewed, according to the newly released Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey.
• New Report Finds Dramatic Improvement in Tanzanian Child Survival Rates
  February 21
  Significantly more Tanzanian infants are living to see their first birthday than did five years ago, according to the newly released 2004-05 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS). The infant mortality rate is now 68 deaths per 1,000 live births, while five years ago the 1999 survey showed an infant mortality rate of 99 deaths per 1,000 live births.
• An In-Depth Analysis of HIV Prevalence in Ghana
  January 5
  An In-Depth Analysis of HIV Prevalence in Ghana looks at a sub sample of sexually experienced men and women who were tested for HIV during the 2003 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS).
  

2005

• Maternal and Child Health in Chad: 8 Years of Stagnation
  December 15
  On Tuesday, December 6, 2005, the Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation of Chad, the Honorable Mahamat Ali Hassan, officially opened the Dissemination Seminar on the findings of the 2004 Chad Demographic and Health Survey (EDST-II).
• Use and Availability of Family Planning Services Show Marked Improvement in Ghana
  September 26
  Knowledge and use of family planning have increased markedly in Ghana, and the country is well on its way to achieving the population policy goals set forth by the Ghanaian government.
• Wealthy and Educated Women Are the Most Vulnerable to HIV Infection in Cameroon
  September 2
  Seven percent of women in Cameroon are infected with HIV, compared with 4% among men, according to the latest Demographic and Health Survey (CDHS), conducted from February to August of 2004, the third DHS of its kind in this country. (Also disponible en français.)
• Early Marriage in Bangladesh: Still Highest in Asia
  August 24
  Early marriage and childbearing remain major obstacles to further fertility decline in Bangladesh. More than half of women marry before age 15. This is the highest rate of early marriage in Asia and among the highest worldwide. Nevertheless, fertility in Bangladesh is now on the decline after a ten-year stagnation. According to the 2004 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS), women now have an average of 3.0 children, down from 6.3 in the 1975 Bangladesh Fertility Survey and 3.3 in the 1999-2000 BDHS.
• MEASURE DHS Releases a New CD-Rom on Female Genital Cutting (FGC)
  July 18
  The CD-Rom assembles all information on female genital cutting (FGC) collected since 1989 under the DHS project, including: FGC chapters from final reports, survey questionnaires on FGC, text of FGC module currently used, and DHS publications on FGC, including a newly released comparative report. (Also disponible en français.)
• New DHS Report on Female Genital Cutting in 16 Countries Shows Changes Over Time
  May 2
  (This press release also Disponible en français and بالعربية.)
• Madagascar Experiences Dramatic Improvements in Women’s and Children’s Health
  April 11
  
• Seven percent of Tanzanians infected with HIV
  April 11
  

2004

• Report: Domestic Violence Threatens Health of Children with Lower Immunization Rates, Higher Mortality Rates, Poor Nutrition
  September 9