When health data go dark: the importance of the DHS Program and imagining its future

Article Article scientifique Article When health data go dark: the importance of the DHS Program and imagining its future eng 2025-04-24 author Khaki Jessie Jane Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi.,Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Programme, Blantyre, Malawi. author Molenaar Jil Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.,University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. author Karki Sulata HERD International, Lalitpur, Nepal. author Olal Emmanuel Adroit Consult International, Kampala, Uganda. author Straneo Manuela Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.,Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. author Mosuse Marie Alice Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussel, Belgium. author Fouogue Jovanny Tsuala Department of Gynaecology, Obstetrics and maternal health, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon. author Hensen Bernadette Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. author Baguiya Adama Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. author Musau Nkola Angèle Ecole de Sante Publique, University of Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo. author Wong Kerry L M Independent researcher, London, UK. author Ba Oumar GeoHealth group, Institute of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. 805170 Services communs de l'Institut des sciences de l'environnement (ISECO) author Kikula Amani Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.,University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.,Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. author Grovogui Fassou Mathias African Centre of Excellence for the Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases (CEA-PCMT), Gamal Abdel Nasser University, Conakry, Republic of Guinea. author Semaan Aline Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.,Athena Institute, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. author Asefa Anteneh Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. author Macharia Peter M 0000-0003-3410-1881 Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. pmacharia@itg.be.,Population & Health Impact Surveillance Group, Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Nairobi, Kenya. pmacharia@itg.be. author Chikwari Chido Dziva Biomedical Research and Training Institute, Harare, Zimbabwe.,London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK. author Ouédraogo Mariame Oumar Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. author Christou Aliki Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. author Okiro Emelda A Population & Health Impact Surveillance Group, Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Nairobi, Kenya. author Mutua Martin Kavao African Population and Health Research Centre, Dakar, Senegal. author Amodu Abioye Independent researcher, Lagos, Nigeria. author Phiri Mwelwa , Zambart, Lusaka, Zambia. author Athanase Rukundo Ministry of Health, Kigali, Rwanda. author Kitara David Lagoro Gulu University, Faculty of Medicine, Gulu, Uganda. author Owolabi Onikepe Guttmacher Institute, New York, USA. author Pembe Andrea B Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. author Afolabi Bosede B Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria.,Centre for Clinical Trials and Implementation Science (CCTRIS), College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria. author Beňová Lenka Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. 241 10.1186/s12916-025-04062-6 40275318 1741-7015 https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-025-04062-6 Background: The suspension and/or termination of many programmes funded through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) by the new US administration has severe short- and long-term negative impacts on the health of people worldwide. We draw attention to the termination of the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program, which includes nationally representative surveys of households, DHS, Malaria Indicator Surveys [MIS]) and health facilities (Service Provision Assessments [SPA]) in over 90 low- and middle-income countries. USAID co-funding and provision of technical support for these surveys has been shut down. Main body: The impact of these disruptions will reverberate across local, regional, national, and global levels and severely impact the ability to understand the levels and changes in population health outcomes and behaviours. We highlight three key impacts on (1) ongoing data collection and data processing activities; (2) future data collection and consequent lack of population-level health indicators; and (3) access to existing data and lack of support for its use. Conclusions: We call for immediate action on multiple fronts. In the short term, universal access to existing data and survey materials should be restored, and surveys which were planned or in progress should be completed. In the long term, this crisis should serve as a tipping point for transforming these vital surveys. We call on national governments, regional organisations, and international partners to develop sustainable alternatives that preserve the principles (standardised questionnaires, backward compatibility, open access data with rigorous documentation) which made the DHS Program an invaluable global health resource. DHS Program Demographic and Health Survey Demographic data Funding Health data Low- and middle-income countries Population surveys Service Provision Assessment USAID Dewey 613 Dewey 333.7-333.9 18 Institut des sciences de l'environnement 0DB 66 Institut de santé globale 22A1 false 1275 GeoHealth: approches géospatiales et environnementales en santé globale 1000 1057 TIGERS 941 ISE Pôle Informatique environnementale BMC medicine 23 1 6298606a-c7b6-472e-abe6-0d2f8f2ecbde Article (Published version) Public Article_scientifique_from_crossref.pdf 1084613 application/pdf CC BY-4.0 0d26a3419a2b1662d3210ebe503f3a18fd0dbadf7faf66fdfb1d10cf67b726f5 openAccess Centres et instituts / Institut des sciences de l'environnement Faculté de médecine / Section de médecine clinique / Département de santé et médecine communautaires / Institut de santé globale

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When health data go dark: the importance of the DHS Program and imagining its future	BMC medicine	2025	51	86
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