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The Demographic and Health Surveys were the only sources of reliable information in many countries on metrics such as mortality, nutrition and education.
An obscure but influential program that gave detailed public health information to about half of the world’s nations will fold as a result of the Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid.
With funding from the United States Agency for International Development, the Demographic and Health Surveys were the only sources of information in many countries about maternal and child health and mortality, nutrition, reproductive health and H.I.V. infections, among many other health indicators.
The surveys collected data in 90 low- and middle-income nations, which then used the information to set health benchmarks at the local, national and global levels, including the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by member countries of the United Nations.
On Tuesday, the program’s administrators learned that it was being “terminated for the convenience of the U.S. Government,” effective immediately, according to an email viewed by The New York Times. They were ordered to “stop all work, terminate subcontracts and place no further orders.”
The Trump administration is dismantling U.S.A.I.D.; thousands of layoffs are expected in the coming days. Without future surveys, it will be nearly impossible to measure the impact of the those foreign aid cuts on citizens in nations without substantial health infrastructure.
Some global health experts reacted to the program’s demise with dismay.
“It’s really challenging for me to understand how you could implement thoughtful programs in public health and monitor progress toward strategic goals if you don’t have the kind of data that are available from the D.H.S.,” Win Brown, a demographer at the University of Washington, said.