Demographic and Health Surveys, a U.S.-funded program, have provided standardized, independent data on births, deaths, and disease across 90+ poorer countries. Ending this funding creates a data blackout that will degrade mortality estimates, program evaluation, and cost-effectiveness analysis worldwide.
— It reveals a geopolitical single point of failure in the world’s evidence base, showing how a domestic budget choice can cripple global decision-making and accountability.
Josh Morrison, Alastair Fraser Urquhart
2025.10.08
55% relevant
Both argue that strong, accessible data infrastructure is a prerequisite for good policy. The article urges HHS to consolidate and open federal health datasets for real‑time analysis, echoing the existing idea’s warning that data gaps cripple decision‑making.
2025.09.15
60% relevant
Both argue that without reliable population measurement, governments cannot plan health and other services; the article’s Paraguay/India/Nigeria examples illustrate the same data‑infrastructure vulnerability that DHS funding cuts would exacerbate.
Saloni Dattani
2025.07.21
100% relevant
USAID’s termination of the DHS program run by ICF International, as flagged by Our World in Data, which warns of a 'massive gap' in mortality and health data.
Fiona Spooner
2025.06.30
70% relevant
The piece recounts how rich‑country progress and weak global surveillance led policymakers to misread TB’s trajectory until better measurement revealed rising deaths, underscoring how fragile global health decisions are without sustained data capacity.