ABSTRACT
The increase in importance of global health has been accompanied by a heightened need for global estimates of health indicators. Global estimates of health indicators have been used for a long time. When the United Nations (UN) system was established, it required comparable data on member countries demographic and health trends. UN agencies and academic organizations routinely publish estimates for child and adult mortality and priority causes, including HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal mortality and major causes of child deaths. The Demographic and Health Surveys Program has collected analyzed and disseminated representative data on population, health, HIV and nutrition through more than 300 surveys in over 90 countries. The Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) have focused since 1995 on data on women and children worldwide. MICS questionnaires are designed by implementing agencies, based on an assessment of a country’s data gaps and needs.
