MEASURE DHS

Since 1984, the MEASURE DHS (Demographic and Health Surveys) project has provided technical assistance to more than 200 surveys in 75 countries, advancing global understanding of health and population trends in developing countries. 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. MEASURE DHS is funded by USAID with contributions from other donors.

As a key participant in the MEASURE program, DHS has earned a worldwide reputation for collecting and disseminating accurate, nationally representative data on fertility, family planning, maternal and child health, as well as child survival, HIV/AIDS, malaria, and nutrition. The DHS approach to data collection emphasizes integration, coordination, cost-effectiveness, and capacity building.

The MEASURE DHS project is implemented by ORC Macro in partnership with:

• Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health/Center for Communication Programs (Hopkins CCP)
• Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH)
• Casals and Associates
• Jorge Scientific Corporation (JSC)

MEASURE Program and Partner Projects

MEASURE DHS is one of four components of the “Monitoring and Evaluation to Assess and Use Results” (MEASURE) ten-year effort begun in 1997 and funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Bureau for Global Health (BGH).  The second phase of the MEASURE program began in 2003.  MEASURE DHS was known as MEASURE DHS+ during the first phase of MEASURE.

Together, the four MEASURE partner projects (MEASURE DHS, MEASURE Evaluation, MEASURE U.S. Census Bureau-SCILS, and MEASURE CDC/DRH) provide a full range of related services, which include promoting the demand for quality data; providing technical assistance, training, systems development, data collection and analysis, and capacity-building services; and disseminating information and facilitating its use in decision making. In consultation with USAID Mission staff, local counterparts, cooperating agencies working in-country, USAID Global Health staff, and other donors, MEASURE partners prepare a comprehensive strategy for monitoring and evaluation as well as data collection, dissemination, and use for each country in which there is substantial MEASURE support.