Eritrea Demographic and Health Survey
The 2002 Eritrea Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) sought nationally representative information on seven health-related topics. Designed as a follow-up to the 1995 EDHS, the 2002 survey covered about 9,400 households and 8,800 women aged 15 to 49. The survey covered many issues in the areas of fertility, family planning, child health and survival, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, women’s health, women’s characteristics and status, and malaria control as well as living conditions and children’s education.

Macro provided technical assistance to the government of Eritrea in conducting the EDHS. We worked with several Eritrean ministries to modify the standard DHS household and women’s questionnaires to address Eritrean concerns; the instruments were translated and printed in seven local languages. Using class presentations, mock interviews, field practice, and tests, we worked with our Eritrean partners to train 14 teams of interviewers, supervisors, and field editors over a 3-week period. With 99 percent of the sampled households and 96 percent of women responding in a 3-month data collection phase, the survey was a resounding success.

Data processing was completed in-country in about 3 months with the help of experts from Macro. While the 2002 EDHS was broader in scope and coverage than the 1995 survey, it was possible to examine trends in many indicators over the intervening years along with patterns of knowledge and behavior. Findings were assessed at the national and regional levels and according to urban and rural areas. Full and summary reports were published and are available through Macro’s DHS Web site.

Nepal Demographic and Health Survey
Macro provided technical support for all phases of the 2001 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). The purpose of the NDHS—last done in 1996 with our help—was to collect recent and reliable information on fertility, family planning, infant and child mortality, maternal and child health, nutrition, and knowledge of HIV/AIDS. We used cluster sampling to survey about 8,900 households, including men for the first time in Nepal. We provided global positioning system units to calculate latitude and longitude coordinates for each sample cluster. This allowed data from the 2001 NDHS to be integrated into a geographic information system with other data collected in the same locales. We developed household, women’s, and men’s questionnaires, which were translated into three languages. Our staff conducted 4 weeks of training for 11 teams of supervisors, interviewers, and data editors. The survey was completed with response rates of 96 to nearly 100 percent in the three groups of respondents. Macro worked with local researchers and officials on data processing, analysis, and report preparation.