A Policy Wonk’s Delight: MEASURE DHS Debuts Youth Corner

Main Notes on YRH Policy

Do you await the publication of the latest Demographic and Health Survey with the zeal of a Harry Potter fan staking out the local bookstore for the release of the next book in the series? Then you will probably enjoy MEASURE DHS’s new “youth corner,” that takes the youth cut on the DHS data. Although still a work in progress, the corner (part of the larger DHS website) is a big step forward in helping understand how to use the DHS data for advocacy and programming on youth issues. After a quiet launch in January 2007, the developers are eager to hear from users on how to improve the site. So don’t hesitate to contact them with your ideas.

My favorite angle of the corner is the youth country profiles, now available for 32 countries with surveys post-2000. They include about a dozen indicators calculated for ease of cross-country comparability. That makes it simple to use for advocacy and in policy discussions.

For more in-depth analyses, of course there is the trusty Statcompiler. And the recent survey reports themselves, including youth reports, are all online.