The 2013 NDHS is part of the worldwide Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) programme funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). DHS surveys are designed to collect data on fertility, family planning, and maternal and child health; assist countries in monitoring changes in population, health, and nutrition; and provide an international database that can be used by researchers investigating topics related to population, health, and nutrition.
The overall objective of the survey is to provide demographic, socioeconomic, and health data necessary for policymaking, planning, monitoring, and evaluation of national health and population programmes. In addition, the survey measured the prevalence of anaemia, HIV, high blood glucose, and high blood pressure among adult women and men; assessed the prevalence of anaemia among children age 6-59 months; and collected anthropometric measurements to assess the nutritional status of women, men, and children.
A long-term objective of the survey is to strengthen the technical capacity of local organizations to plan, conduct, and process and analyse data from complex national population and health surveys. At the global level, the 2013 NDHS data are comparable with those from a number of DHS surveys conducted in other developing countries. The 2013 NDHS adds to the vast and growing international database on demographic and health-related variables.