A funding opportunity that may be of interest to those following the future of global demographic and health data: the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy has released an addendum to its Advancing Global Health Annual Program Statement focused on innovations in population-based surveys and surveillance. The opportunity would support up to four awards totaling as much as $80 million over five years.
A few things stood out to me:
- The addendum explicitly identifies the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) as one of the established survey platforms that future innovations should build upon.
- There's a strong emphasis on making surveys more cost-effective and country-owned, including streamlined questionnaires, rolling survey designs, novel sampling approaches, integration with routine health information systems, and expanded use of AI for data collection, analysis, and disease surveillance.
- Priority health areas include HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, neglected tropical diseases, and nutrition, with a focus on strengthening surveillance systems that support both country decision-making and global health security.
Some other things are also noteworthy by their absence. The document does not identify reproductive health or family planning among the priority health areas, nor does it discuss broader demographic topics such as fertility, migration, or early childhood development that have traditionally been central components of the DHS. It also focuses on technical innovation rather than the broader governance, financing, or institutional questions surrounding the future of DHS data.
The Statement of Interest deadline is September 15, 2026.
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Mark Mather
Associate VP
PRB
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