Aligning Policy and Data Production: Building Sustainable Demographic and Health Statistics

Overview 

The theme of 59th session of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD59) focusing on population technology and research in the context of sustainable development, provides a key forum to advance dialogue on the future of demographic and health data and to gather inputs from policy priorities. This is particularly timely, as the abrupt termination of core funding for the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program in early 2025 exposed structural vulnerabilities in statistical support systems for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), triggering an urgent global response. In this context, the Task Force on Sustainable Demographic and Health Statistics through Surveys was established in March 2025 under the UN Statistical Commission, with a mandate to develop sustainable, long-term solutions for data production grounded in national ownership—while also creating an opportunity to build and strengthen systems on this foundation. 

In 2025, the Task Force developed a set of Shared Principles mapped to seven Action Areas and organized several discussions to brainstorm on how the looking-forward solutions for country-owned sustainable demographic and health statistics data through surveys. It also conducted three assessments covering National Statistical Offices (NSOs), SDG custodian agencies, and global DHS users. Findings showed that 69 per cent of responding NSOs experienced reduced funding since January 2025. Monitoring for SDG 3 (health) and SDG 5 (gender equality) indicators was among the most affected—highlighting systemic vulnerabilities, particularly in gender data. Building on this work, the Task Force is continuing its work in 2026 and will present recommendations to the UN Statistical Commission at its 58th session in 2027. 

Discussions to date underscore the urgent need to align data efforts with policy priorities and provide guidance on key elements for coordination between policy and statistical communities. This side event at CPD59 offers a critical opportunity to gather policy perspectives and build momentum for the way forward. 
 

Documents

• Concept note 
• Event flyer

Organization of work