Nairobi, Kenya – The Minister for Public Health and Sanitation, Hon. Mrs. Beth Wambui Mugo, launched the main report of the 2008-09 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) today.  It shows that Kenya has made progress in improving children’s health and reducing fertility.  More children are living past their fifth birthday, and fertility has declined very modestly.   There have also been increases in HIV testing and HIV/AIDS-related knowledge.

The Ministry of Health and the National Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) release the results of the first ever 2008-09 Albanian Demographic and Health Survey (ADHS).

This survey collected data on demographic patterns, fertility, maternal and child health, HIV, nutrition, migration and women’s empowerment. According to the ADHS, disparities in health and nutrition status, access to health services and levels of knowledge of family planning, HIV/AIDS and STIs are identified as areas for improvement.

Key findings of the 2008-09 ADHS presented today explore the demographic and health indicator trends in Albania.  According to the survey, fertility decreased and infant and child mortality declined significantly over the five years preceding the survey.

The Philippines continues to make slight but steady progress in improving children’s health and reducing fertility, according to the newly released 2008 Demographic Health Survey (PDHS).  More children are living past their fifth birthday, and fertility has declined very modestly.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Since 1984, Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), conceived and funded largely by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has collected and disseminated high quality data that provide critical insight for decision makers to plan, monitor, and evaluate population, health, and nutrition programs. The DHS project staff has helped conduct some 260 surveys in over 90 developing countries. Widely cited by national governments and leaders, international and donor agencies, and USAID, DHS results have played a key role in policy development and in national health system strategy. The project uses consistent survey methods and questionnaires across countries to measure key indicators including infant and child mortality, fertility, family planning use, maternal health, child immunization, and malnutrition levels. Beginning in 2001, DHS began measuring HIV prevalence in national surveys, leading to an international reassessment of both the extent and epidemiology of the AIDS epidemic.

Seven years after Sierra Leone’s devastating civil war, which tore apart the country’s health infrastructure, more than 4 in 5 pregnant women sought antenatal care, but only one-quarter of births took place at health facilities, according to the country’s first Demographic and Health Survey.

While the number of women seeking checkups during pregnancy was encouraging, the lack of skilled delivery assistance during childbirth likely remains a major contributing factor to the country’s high maternal mortality rate, which is estimated at 857 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births, one of the highest rates in the world.