The 1992 Namibia Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) is a nationally representative survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Social Services, assisted by the Central Statistical Office, with the aim of gathering reliable information on fertility, family planning, infant and child mortality, maternal mortality, maternal and child health and nutrition. Interviewers collected information on the reproductive histories of 5,421 women 15-49 years and on the health of 3,562 children under the age of five years.
The Namibia Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) is a national sample survey of women of reproductive age designed to collect data on mortality and fertility, socioeconomic characteristics, marriage patterns, breastfeeding, use of contraception, immunisation of children, accessibility to health and family planning services, treatment of children during episodes of illness, and the nutritional status of women and children. More specifically, the objectives of NDHS are:
- To collect data at the national level which will allow the calculation of demographic rates, particularly fertility rates and child mortality rates, and maternal mortality rates; To analyse the direct and indirect factors which determine levels and trends in fertility and childhood mortality, Indicators of fertility and mortality are important in planning for social and economic development;
- To measure the level of contraceptive knowledge and practice by method, region, and urban/rural residence;
- To collect reliable data on family health: immunisations, prevalence and treatment of diarrhoea and other diseases among children under five, antenatal visits, assistance at delivery and breastfeeding;
- To measure the nutritional status of children under five and of their mothers using anthropometric measurements (principally height and weight).