Disappearing data: Implications and actions for global health

This past February, the Demographic Health Survey Program, a cornerstone of health data in many countries, saw its funding discontinued. This major shift in global health data availability is raising urgent questions about access, accountability, and action.

In response, CanWaCH launched a two-part webinar series to explore the far-reaching impacts of these changes and what they mean for the future of global health. 

Webinar one

This webinar contextualized the impacts and implications of the DHS termination and discussed actions that stakeholders are taking or could take to ensure the availability and reliability of global health data. Concerns about data preservation and access were also explored.

Webinar two

The second webinar zoomed out to present the larger demographic health data landscape and ecosystem. It provided an overview of what remains from the DHS Program, and how gaps might be addressed. Guest speakers shared their perspectives on how demographic health data systems might be reimagined, focused on themes of cost efficiencies, data quality, sustainability and local ownership.