Demographic and Health Survey 2006

The 2006 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) is a nationally representative survey of 8,531 women age 15-49 and 2,503 men age 15-54. The UDHS is the fourth com­prehensive survey conducted in Uganda as part of the worldwide Demographic and Health Sur­veys (DHS) project. The primary purpose of the UDHS is to furnish policymakers and planners with detailed information on fertility; family planning; infant, child, adult, and maternal mor­tality; maternal and child health; nutrition; and knowledge of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. In addition, in one in three households selected for the survey, women age 15-49, men age 15-54, and children under age 5 years were weighed and their height was measured. Women, men, and children age 6-59 months in this subset of households were tested for anaemia, and women and children were tested for vitamin A deficiency. The 2006 UDHS is the first DHS survey in Uganda to cover the entire country.

The 2006 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) was designed to provide information on demographic, health, and family planning status and trends in the country. Specifically, the UDHS collected information on fertility levels, marriage, sexual activity, fertility preferences, awareness and use of family planning methods, and breastfeeding practices. In addition, data were collected on the nutritional status of mothers and young children; infant, child, adult, and maternal mortality; maternal and child health; awareness and behaviour regarding HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections; and levels of anaemia and vitamin A deficiency.

The 2006 UDHS is a follow-up to the 1988-1989, 1995, and 2000-2001 UDHS surveys, which were also implemented by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS). The specific objectives of the 2006 UDHS are as follows:

• To collect data at the national level that will allow the calculation of demographic rates, particularly the fertility and infant mortality rates
• To analyse the direct and indirect factors that determine the level and trends in fertility and mortality
• To measure the level of contraceptive knowledge and practice of women and men by method, by urban-rural residence, and by region
• To collect data on knowledge and attitudes of women and men about sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS, and to evaluate patterns of recent behaviour regarding condom use
• To assess the nutritional status of children under age five and women by means of anthropometric measurements (weight and height), and to assess child feeding practices
• To collect data on family health, including immunizations, prevalence and treatment of diarrhoea and other diseases among children under five, antenatal visits, assistance at delivery, and breastfeeding
• To measure vitamin A deficiency in women and children, and to measure anaemia in women, men, and children
• To measure key education indicators including school attendance ratios and primary school grade repetition and dropout rates
• To collect information on the extent of disability
• To collect information on the extent of gender-based violence.

MAIN RESULTS

• Fertility : Survey results indicate that the total fertility rate (TFR) for the country is 6.7 births per woman. The TFR in urban areas is much lower than in the rural areas (4.4 and 7.1 children, re­spectively). Kampala, whose TFR is 3.7, has the lowest fertility. Fertility rates in Central 1, Central 2, and Southwest regions are also lower than the national level. Removing four districts from the 2006 data that were not covered in the 2000­2001 UDHS, the 2006 TFR is 6.5 births per woman, compared with 6.9 from the 2000-2001 UDHS. Education and wealth have a marked effect on fertility, with uneducated mothers hav­ing about three more children on average than women with at least some secondary education and women in the lowest wealth quintile having almost twice as many children as women in the highest wealth quintile.

• Family planning : Overall, knowledge of family planning has remained consistently high in Uganda over the past five years, with 97 percent of all women and 98 percent of all men age 15-49 having heard of at least one method of contraception. Pills, injectables, and condoms are the most widely known modern methods among both women and men.

• Maternal health : Ninety-four percent of women who had a live birth in the five years preceding the survey received antenatal care from a skilled health pro­fessional for their last birth. These results are comparable to the 2000-2001 UDHS. Only 47 percent of women make four or more antenatal care visits during their entire pregnancy, an im­provement from 42 percent in the 2000-2001 UDHS. The median duration of pregnancy for the first antenatal visit is 5.5 months, indicating that Ugandan women start antenatal care at a relatively late stage in pregnancy.

• Child health : Forty-six percent of children age 12-23 months have been fully vaccinated. Over nine in ten (91 percent) have received the BCG vaccina­tion, and 68 percent have been vaccinated against measles. The coverage for the first doses of DPT and polio is relatively high (90 percent for each). However, only 64 percent go on to receive the third dose of DPT, and only 59 per­cent receive their third dose of polio vaccine. There are notable improvements in vaccination coverage since the 2000-2001 UDHS. The per­centage of children age 12-23 months fully vac­cinated at the time of the survey increased from 37 percent in 2000-2001 to 44 percent in 2006. The percentage who had received none of the six basic vaccinations decreased from 13 percent in 2000-2001 to 8 percent in 2006.

• Malaria : The 2006 UDHS gathered information on the use of mosquito nets, both treated and un­treated. The data show that only 34 percent of households in Uganda own a mosquito net, with 16 percent of households owning an insecticide-treated net (ITN). Only 22 percent of children under five slept under a mosquito net on the night before the interview, while a mere 10 per­cent slept under an ITN.

• Breastfeeding and nutrition : In Uganda, almost all children are breastfed at some point. However, only six in ten children under the age of 6 months are exclusively breast-fed.

• HIV/AIDS AND stis : Knowledge of AIDS is very high and wide­spread in Uganda. In terms of HIV prevention strategies, women and men are most aware that the chances of getting the AIDS virus can be reduced by limiting sex to one uninfected partner who has no other partners (89 percent of women and 95 percent of men) or by abstaining from sexual intercourse (86 percent of women and 93 percent of men). Knowledge of condoms and the role they can play in preventing transmission of the AIDS virus is not quite as high (70 percent of women and 84 percent of men).

• Orphanhood and vulnerability : Almost one in seven children under age 18 is orphaned (15 percent), that is, one or both par­ents are dead. Only 3 percent of children under the age of 18 have lost both biological parents.

• Women's status and gender violence : Data for the 2006 UDHS show that women in Uganda are generally less educated than men. Although the gender gap has narrowed in recent years, 19 percent of women age 15-49 have never been to school, compared with only 5 per­cent of men in the same age group.

• Mortality : At current mortality levels, one in every 13 Ugandan children dies before reaching age one, while one in every seven does not survive to the fifth birthday. After removing districts not cov­ered in the 2000-2001 UDHS from the 2006 data, findings show that infant mortality has de­clined from 89 deaths per 1,000 live births in the 2000-2001 UDHS to 75 in the 2006 UDHS. Un­der-five mortality has declined from 158 deaths per 1,000 live births to 137.