DHS in the News - COVID-19

Journalists worldwide write about The DHS Program results. The dissemination of DHS, SPA and HIV data is often widely covered by media in survey countries, but journalists also use The DHS Program data throughout the year as background information for their stories, or to compare health and development indicators across countries. These data are also used by journalists in the United States and other developed countries, as it is considered the gold standard of population, health and nutrition data. Below are some examples of recent news coverage. Please note: The links below are to websites outside The DHS Program.

Dec 16, 2020
Preventing Teenage Pregnancy through Relief for the Girl-child

Funmi Ogundare
THISDAY (Lagos, Nigeria)

"...According to a Demographic and Health Survey 2013 report in Nigeria, an estimated 23 per cent of women aged 15 to 19 years have begun child bearing, of which 17 per cent have had their first child and five per cent are pregnant with their first child. Also, 32 per cent of teenagers in rural areas have begun child bearing as opposed to 10 per cent in the urban areas of Nigeria. The report shows the disparities within the geopolitical zones as follows: north-west (36 per cent), north-east (32 per cent), north-central (19 per cent), south-central (12 per cent), south-east (8 per cent) and south-west (8 per cent)..."

https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/12/16/preventing-teenage-pregnancy-through-relief-for-the-girl-child/
Dec 13, 2020
Domestic violence, rape and suicide on the rise nationwide?

Bingo P. Dejaresco
THE NEGROS CHRONICLE (Dumaguete, Philippines)

"...But as early as 2017, women aged 17-49 (one out of four) were already physically, emotionally or sexually abused by their partners, according to the Philippine National Demographic and Health Survey..."

https://negroschronicle.com/domestic-violence-rape-and-suicide-on-the-rise-nationwide/
Dec 10, 2020
16 days of activism against Gender-Based Violence: What you need to know

Lolita Bunde
THE STANDARD: EVE (Nairobi, Kenya)

"...According to a section of the KDHS 2014 report, 45 percent of women and 44 percent of men age 15-49 have experienced physical violence since age 15. For women the main perpetrators of physical violence were their husbands while for men it ranged from parents, teachers to guardians among others..."

https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/evewoman/article/2001396868/16-days-of-activism-against-gender-based-violence-what-you-need-to-know
Dec 10, 2020
Boys who impregnate school girls to go on forced leave

Conan Businge
NEW VISION (Uganda)

"...According to the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (2016), 1 in 5 women in Uganda begins sexual activity before age 15, while 64% have sex before age 18; all of which are within the primary and secondary age brackets in Uganda. One in four adolescent women age 15-19 are already mothers or pregnant with their first child. Teenage childbearing is higher in rural areas (27%) than in urban areas (19%)..."

https://www.newvision.co.ug/news/1534832/boys-impregnate-school-girls-forced-leave
Dec 10, 2020
Mortality rate reduction a must to meet Sustainable Development Goals: President

BUSINESS RECORDER (Islamabad, Pakistan)

"...The results of the Pakistan Maternal Mortality Survey (PMMS) were officially released during the national dissemination event. According to the survey, the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is 186 deaths per 100,000 live births for the three-year period before the survey. Overall, 12 percent of deaths among ever-married women between the ages of 15-49 in the past three years are due to maternal causes. The majority (96 percent) of maternal deaths were direct maternal deaths, while four percent of deaths were indirect maternal deaths..."

https://www.brecorder.com/news/40039814