Malawi - Demographic and Health Survey 2004-2005, Malawi
Reference ID | mwi-nso-dhs-2004-05-v1 |
Year | 2004 - 2005 |
Country | Malawi |
Producer(s) | Malawi. National Statistical Office (NSO) |
Sponsor(s) | United States Agency for International Development - USAID - Funding Department for International Development of the British Government - DfID - Funding United Nations Children’s Fund - UNICEF - Funding United Nations Population Fund - U |
Collection(s) | |
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Created on
Jun 11, 2013
Last modified
Nov 14, 2016
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13601
Overview
Identification
ID Number mwi-nso-dhs-2004-05-v1 |
Version
Version Description
v1: Edited, anonymised dataset for public distribution.This version refers to the dataset available from the MeasureDHS website referred to as DHS Malawi 2004.
DataFirst has included both years of data collection in their study title.
Overview
Abstract
The 2004-2005 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS) is a nationally representative survey of 11,698 women age 1549 and 3,261 men age 15-54. The main purpose of the 2004-2005 MDHS is to provide policymakers and programme managers with detailed information on fertility, family planning, childhood and adult mortality, maternal and child health, as well as knowledge of and attitudes related to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The 2004-2005 MDHS is designed to provide data to monitor the population and health situation in Malawi as a followup of the 1992 and 2000 MDHS surveys, and the 1996 Malawi Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices in Health Survey. New features of the 2004 MDHS include the collection of information on use of mosquito nets, domestic violence, anaemia testing of women and children under 5, and HIV testing of adults. The 2004-2005 MDHS survey was implemented by the National Statistical Office (NSO). The Ministry of Health and Population, the National AIDS Commission (NAC), the National Economic Council, and the Ministry of Gender contributed to the development of the questionnaires for the survey. Most of the funds for the local costs of the survey were provided by multiple donors through the NAC. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided additional funds for the technical assistance through ORC Macro. The Department for International Development (DfID) of the British Government, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) also provided funds for the survey. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention provided technical assistance in HIV testing.
The survey used a two-stage sample based on the 1998 Census of Population and Housing and was designed to produce estimates for key indicators for ten large districts in addition to estimates for national, regional, and urban-rural domains. Fieldwork for the 2004-2005 MDHS was carried out by 22 mobile interviewing teams. Data collection commenced on 4 October 2004 and was completed on 31 January 2005.
The principal aim of the 2004-2005 MDHS project was to provide up-to-date information on fertility and childhood mortality levels, nuptiality, fertility preferences, awareness and use of family planning methods, use of maternal and child health services, and knowledge and behaviours related to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. It was designed as a follow-on to the 2000 MDHS survey, a national-level survey of similar scope. The 2004-2005 MDHS survey, unlike the 2000 MDHS, collected blood samples which were later tested for HIV in order to estimate HIV prevalence in Malawi.
In broad terms, the 2004-2005 MDHS survey aimed to:
- Assess trends in Malawi's demographic indicators, principally fertility and mortality
- Assist in the monitoring and evaluation of Malawi's health, population, and nutrition programmes
- Advance survey methodology in Malawi and contribute to national and international databases
- Provide national-level estimates of HIV prevalence for women age 15-49 and men age 15-54.
In more specific terms, the 2004-2005 MDHS survey was designed to:
- Provide data on the family planning and fertility behaviour of the Malawian population and thereby enable policymakers to evaluate and enhance family planning initiatives in the country
- Measure changes in fertility and contraceptive prevalence and analyse the factors that affect these changes, such as marriage patterns, desire for children, availability of contraception, breastfeeding habits, and important social and economic factors
- Examine basic indicators of maternal and child health and welfare in Malawi, including nutritional status, use of antenatal and maternity services, treatment of recent episodes of childhood illness, and use of immunisation services. Particular emphasis was placed on malaria programmes, including malaria prevention activities and treatment of episodes of fever.
- Provide levels and patterns of knowledge and behaviour related to the prevention of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections
- Provide national estimates of HIV prevalence
- Measure the level of infant and adult mortality including maternal mortality at the national level
- Assess the status of women in the country.
MAIN FINDINGS
Fertility - Fertility Levels and Trends. While there has been a significant decline in fertility in the past two decades from 7.6 children in the early 1980s to 6.0 children per woman in the early 2000s, compared with selected countries in Eastern and Southern Africa, such as Zambia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Kenya, and Uganda, the total fertility rate (TFR) in Malawi is high, lower only than Uganda (6.9).
Family planning - Knowledge of Contraception. Knowledge of family planning is nearly universal, with 97 percent of women age 15-49 and 97 percent of men age 15-54 knowing at least one modern method of family planning. The most widely known modern methods of contraception among all women are injectables (93 percent), the pill and male condom (90 percent each), and female sterilisation (83 percent).
Maternal health - Antenatal Care. There has been little change in the coverage of antenatal care (ANC) from a medical professional since 2000 (93 percent in 2004 compared with 91 percent in 2000). Most women receive ANC from a nurse or a midwife (82 percent), although 10 percent go to a doctor or a clinical officer. A small proportion (2 percent) receives ANC from a traditional birth attendant, and 5 percent do not receive any ANC. Only 8 percent of women initiated ANC before the fourth month of pregnancy, a marginal increase from 7 percent in the 2000 MDHS.
Adult and Maternal Mortality. Comparison of data from the 2000 and 2004-2005 MDHS surveys indicates that mortality for both women and men has remained at the same levels since 1997 (11-12 deaths per 1,000).
Child health - Childhood Mortality. Data from the 2004 MDHS show that for the 2000-2004 period, the infant mortality rate is 76 per 1,000 live births, child mortality is 62 per 1,000, and the under-five mortality rate is 133 per 1,000 live births.
Nutrition - Breastfeeding Practices. Breastfeeding is nearly universal in Malawi. Ninety-eight percent of children are breastfed for some period of time. The median duration of breastfeeding in Malawi in 2004 is 23.2 months, one month shorter than in 2000.
HIV/AIDS - Awareness of AIDS. Knowledge of AIDS among women and men in Malawi is almost universal. This is true across age group, urban-rural residence, marital status, wealth index, and education. Nearly half of women and six in ten men can identify the two most common misconceptions about the transmission of HIV-HIV can be transmitted by mosquito bites, and HIV can be transmitted by supernatural means-and know that a healthy-looking person can have the AIDS virus.
Kind of Data
Sample survey dataUnits of Analysis
- Household- Women age 15-49
- Men age 15-54
Scope
Notes
The Malawi Demographic and Health Survey 2004-2005 covers the following topics:- Anemia Questions–Questions or testing assessing prevalence/severity of iron-def. anemia among women or children
- Anemia Testing
- Anthropometry
- Child Labor
- Domestic Violence
- Fistula Questions
- GPS/Georeferenced–Global Positioning System or Georeferenced Data
- HIV Behavior
- HIV Knowledge–Questions assess knowledge/sources of knowledge/ways to avoid HIV
- HIV Testing
- Malaria Module (bednets)
- Male circumcision
- Maternal Mortality
- Men's Survey
- Micronutrients
- Reproductive Calendar
- Social Marketing
- Tobacco Use
- Vitamin A Questions
Coverage
Geographic Coverage
The 2004-2005 MDHS is designed to present important characteristics for Malawi as a whole, urban and rural areas separately, and each of ten large districts. These districts are: Blantyre, Kasungu, Machinga, Mangochi, Mzimba, Salima, Tyolo, Zomba, Lilongwe, and Mulanje.Universe
The population covered by the 2004-2005 MDHS is defined as the universe of all women age 15-49 in malawi and all men age 15-54 living in the household.Producers and Sponsors
Primary Investigator(s)
Name | Affiliation |
---|---|
Malawi. National Statistical Office (NSO) |
Other Producer(s)
Name | Affiliation | Role |
---|---|---|
ORC Macro | Technical assistance |
Funding
Name | Abbreviation | Role |
---|---|---|
United States Agency for International Development | USAID | Funding |
Department for International Development of the British Government | DfID | Funding |
United Nations Children’s Fund | UNICEF | Funding |
United Nations Population Fund | UNFPA | Funding |
National AIDS Commission | Channel of delivery |
Other Acknowledgements
Name | Affiliation | Role |
---|---|---|
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) | Technical assistance on HIV testing |
Metadata Production
Metadata Produced By
Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation | Role |
---|---|---|---|
DataFirst | University of Cape Town | Metadata Producer |
Date of Metadata Production
2012-04-04DDI Document ID
ddi-mwi-datafirst-dhs-2004-05-v1