A legacy of impact: 4 decades of transforming global health through data

For more than 40 years, ICF has helped countries around the world turn data into action—empowering policymakers, improving lives, and driving lasting progress in global health.

As the longtime lead implementer of The Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program, we partner with global funders and organizations to support countries in the collection of high-quality health data across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Through close collaboration and a cross-sector approach—bringing together expertise in health, sustainable development, and data innovation—we help countries build ethical, transparent systems that turn information into insight and insight into impact.

When the DHS Program closed in February 2025, new funders stepped in to sustain its work, while stakeholders mobilized to explore long-term solutions—ensuring this trusted source of global health data continues to inform decisions and improve lives worldwide. The program remains fully committed to upholding the longstanding principles of country ownership, transparency, and open access to data so that it can continue to inform decisions and improve lives globally. 

Today, work continues under new funding streams, with countries increasingly leading their own surveys and applying data to broader development challenges—from food security to climate resilience and health system strengthening. We have also seen several countries, including India, no longer request assistance with the design and implementation of their surveys over time. New datasets are regularly added to the program’s public website, where users worldwide continue to access decades of data, tools, and resources recognized as the gold standard for global health information.

We remain actively engaged in discussions about the program’s long-term future and continue collaborating with countries and donors to address emerging gaps.

The data deficit that sparked a global standard

In 1970s and early 1980s during the World Fertility Survey era—which was a precursor to the DHS Program—researchers faced a formidable challenge: collecting reliable, nationally representative health data across LMICs while upholding rigorous standards of consistency, transparency, and ethical integrity. Many countries lacked the infrastructure, technical expertise, and resources to independently manage large-scale surveys. The stakes were high: without consistent, high-quality data, governments couldn’t make informed decisions on maternal health, nutrition, HIV prevention, or child mortality.

Compounding these challenges were environmental, economic, and political pressures that demanded a solution both scalable and resilient. The response was the creation of the DHS Program, which quickly became the global gold standard for health and demographic data collection—anchored in ethical practices and designed to empower countries with the tools to lead their own data journeys.

Scaling impact through country-led data innovation

Over the course of four decades, ICF has led nine iterations of the DHS Program—delivering more than 400 large-scale surveys across 90+ countries. The consistency in methodology makes the DHS uniquely valuable for tracking progress.

Our approach balances technical rigor with local adaptability, ensuring data comparability while tailoring implementation to each country’s unique context. Survey priorities are primarily shaped and implemented by the participating countries. Our role is to provide technical support to the countries in the implementation, analysis, and dissemination of their data. We prioritize ethical data collection and transparent processes, empowering countries to take ownership of their data and use it to improve health outcomes. By making DHS data, methods, and tools freely accessible, we reinforce our commitment to open data, equitable development, and survey self-reliance.

The surveys ICF has supported have helped countries shape national health policies, improve resource allocation, and advance evidence-based decision-making worldwide. Though funding has shifted, we remain deeply engaged in health data collection, adapting our approach to meet evolving global needs.