The Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) Program just released the new DHS model questionnaires for round 8 (2018-2023). We previously shared on the blog how DHS and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) are main sources of nationally-representative maternal, newborn, child health, and nutrition data. The four DHS core questionnaires (household, woman, man, and biomarker) will be used globally, and…
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Similar but not the same: The challenge of comparing indicators across nutrition data tools
Nursing mothers wait outside the antenatal unit at Orolodo primary health centre before the start of a family planning visibility parade in Omuaran township in Nigeria’s central state of Kwara. © 2012 Akintunde Akinleye/NURHI, Courtesy of Photoshare High-quality nutrition data is critical for country stakeholders, advocates, funders, and many others to assess needs, measure progress, and ultimately make decisions to…
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The World Health Assembly Global Nutrition Monitoring Framework: Aspiring to track global progress in nutrition
Accelerating nutrition progress through target setting Source: World Health Organization. Global Targets 2025. https://www.who.int/nutrition/global-target-2025/en/ In the wake of the Millennium Development Goals, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) became a rallying point for the global nutrition community to accelerate actions towards reducing malnutrition. In 2012, the World Health Assembly (WHA) endorsed six Global Nutrition Targets for 2025. The nutrition targets are…
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Beyond Definition: Attaching meaning to indicators
An interview with Jef Leroy, IFPRI A worker with the partner organization of Save the Children measures a child in the slums of Govandi, Mumbai, India. © 2016 Mayank Soni (Save the Children), Courtesy of Photoshare Stunting, or children assessed as too short for their age, has become a north star indicator for the nutrition community. Many advocates, policy makers,…
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Innovations in Nutrition Measurement: Lessons Learned from Population-Based Household Surveys in Burkina Faso and Kenya
A resident enumerator in Burkina Faso prepares for the third round of data collection for PMA2020, a mobile technology-based survey project that supports routine, rapid-turnaround, high quality data on family planning and other health indicators. ©2016 PMA2020/Shani Turke, Courtesy of Photoshare Countries with high burdens of malnutrition have increased investment in nutrition, but monitoring and evaluation efforts have been hindered…
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Inspiration from the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) community: Core Questions on WASH for Household Surveys
© 2014 Faisal Azim, Courtesy of Photoshare World Water Day 2019’s theme of “Leaving no one behind” focuses on vulnerable populations—including women, children, refugees, and indigenous peoples—that lack access to safe water. This theme is aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets on universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water (6.1) and adequate and equitable sanitation and…
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Quantifying the nutrition transition among children in low- and middle-income countries
© 2012 Akintunde Akinleye/NURHI, Courtesy of Photoshare Over 25 years ago, Dr. Barry Popkin described a global “nutrition transition” – a shift of diets high in fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats to diets high in sugar, saturated fat, and processed foods [1]. This nutrition transition was an “emerging crisis” for low-income countries and linked to changes in demography, epidemiology, and…
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Malnutrition: a key barrier to women and girls’ empowerment
© 2017 Dr. Mohd. Irfan Ahamad Seyyed, Courtesy of Photoshare March 8th marks International Women’s Day, an annual celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political contributions of women. Since 1911, International Women’s Day has been an official day to measure and celebrate progress towards gender parity. Many individuals and institutions have come to focus on women’s economic and social…
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Breastfeeding counseling: The need for actionable data
© 2016 Sanjeeta/CCP India, Courtesy of Photoshare In early 2019, the WHO released global guidance that recommends breastfeeding counseling for all women starting during pregnancy up until the child is two years or older. However, data on the coverage of breastfeeding counseling is limited. There is need for more actionable data on breastfeeding counseling coverage during critical time points.
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Recommendations to update nutrition content of the Demographic and Health Surveys
Over the past five months, Data for Decisions to Expand Nutrition Transformation (DataDENT) has been working with a diverse group of lead authors and technical reviewers from the nutrition community to develop a set of ten recommendations for the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS)-8 core questionnaire. We’re excited to share that the recommendations have been submitted to the DHS Program’s…