The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) shutdown and termination of the landmark Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program – a rich source of internationally comparable gender statistics with multiple Women Count uses – is expected to have dire consequences for global research and policymaking on women’s health and development outcomes.
Since 1984, the DHS Program has supported more than 450 surveys in 90+ low- and middle-income countries, advancing global understanding of population trends, women’s and girls’ health and gender equality. Its abrupt termination leaves a significant void in the global statistical system – particularly in social and gender data. Of the 25 countries mid-collection at the time of closure, many may now be unable to complete their surveys, threatening the continuity of vital data that informs policies, programmes and investments in women’s well-being.
Policymaking in peril
According to Omar Seidu, Director of Social Statistics and Coordinator of Data for SDGs at the Ghana Statistical Service, the DHS termination “is likely to set a number of countries back,” in developing and monitoring policies and programmes.
“For instance, we just passed a law on affirmative action, and the DHS is one of the most reliable sources of gender-related data. So, how are we going to measure our progress on this law? Especially in the areas of fertility, decision-making in the household and violence against women. We had our last Census in 2021 and DHS in 2022, but Censuses are only done every 10 years. So, without a DHS, how will we collect indicators on mortality, fertility and population projections before the next Census?” asks Seidu. “A country’s ability to change the course of its performance depends on the evidence that is put forward.”
DHS data have also been leveraged for policy change by several Women Count programme countries. According to Papa Seck, Chief of UN Women’s Research and Data Section: “For many of our programme countries, the DHS was not just a data source – it was a backbone for gender evidence. Through Women Count, we’ve helped national actors reprocess DHS data to inform policies on violence against women, women’s economic empowerment and education. With this sudden halt, we risk losing hard-won momentum on gender data use, just when we need it most – as countries try to make smart investments in a constrained funding environment. This is not just a data crisis; it’s a gender equality crisis in the making.”
Women Count helped Kenya’s 2022 DHS inform County-Integrated Development Plans and county policies and the creation of specialized GBV courts. In Rwanda, reprocessed 2020 DHS data were used by the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion to update the National Gender Policy, draft a GBV policy, develop a national MenEngage Strategy, and adjust education policies to allow teen mothers to go back to school. DHS data have also fuelled Women Count-supported research on women in slums, education, employment, and violence and climate crises.
Ripples in research
Caren Grown, Senior Fellow at the US-based Brookings Institution, says losing the DHS as a key data source will hamper evidence-based research, “because the evidence will be less and less”. She says a solution is urgently needed to make DHS data and other technical tools – such as codes, guidance and community conversations about trouble-shooting issues – available to new users.
Jessamyn Encarnacion, UN Women Inter-Regional Adviser on Gender Statistics for the Women Count Programme says the DHS is one of the few surveys with internationally comparable questions and indicators, standardized methodology and quality assurance, publicly accessible microdata and harmonized variables and indicators.
“At this juncture, given the changing data funding and gender equality funding landscape, we really need more data to make the smartest choices with the little data that we have. To lose the DHS puts us at risk of not making those smart investments and significant improvements.”
Grown also underlined the need for alternative funding sources: “Gender data has never been adequately financed ... [and] gender data financing is contracting. And the more that we lose some of these big data sources, it’s going to be harder to make up those deficits.”
“Devastating” impacts
Ginette Azcona, UN Women Senior Research and Data Specialist, calls the impact of the DHS stoppage “devastating,” especially for the poorest countries in the world. She says at least 33 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators rely on DHS data, namely statistics about social well-being, education, health and violence against women. Moreover, at least a quarter of the 52 gender-related SDG indicators will be directly impacted by the DHS termination. Some of UN Women’s forecasts on poverty and gender inequality also use indicators drawn on DHS data.
“Not only will no new data be supported, but even existing and historical data may no longer be available to advocates and researchers,” adds Azcona. “Devastating feels like an understatement, given the scale of loss already unfolding.”
UN Women response
A rapid global assessment – co-led by UN Women – was undertaken in May to quantify the impact of this crisis on national statistical systems, SDG reporting and gender data availability. A global survey to assess the impact on research is also underway, the findings of which will be critical for coordinated planning and action-oriented steps forward.
As the third phase of the Women Count programme is being planned for 2026, UN Women is assessing the implications of the DHS termination and exploring innovative and creative solutions to ensure gender data continue to be produced, used and valued – because when gender data disappear, policy agendas similarly become blind to the needs of women and girls.
