Demographic and Health Survey 2006-2007 (Namibia)

Abstract

The 2006-07 Namibia Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) is a nationally representative survey of 9,804 women age 15-49 and 3,915 men age 15-49. The 2006-07 NDHS is the third com­prehensive survey conducted in Namibia as part of the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) programme. The data are intended to provide programme managers and policymakers with detailed information on levels and trends in fer­tility; nuptiality; sexual activity; fertility prefer­ences; awareness and use of family planning methods; breastfeeding practices; nutritional status of mothers and young children; early childhood mortality, adult and maternal mortal­ity; maternal and child health; and awareness and behaviour regarding HIV/AIDS and other sexu­ally transmitted infections. The 2006-07 NDHS is the first NDHS survey to collect information on malaria prevention and treatment.

The 2006-07 NDHS has been a large-scale research project. Twenty-eight field teams interviewed about 9,200 households, 9,800 women and 3,900 men age 15-49. The interviews were conducted between November 2006 and March 2007. The survey covered about 500 primary sampling units in all regions.

The 2006-07 Namibia Demographic and Health Survey is designed to:
- Determine key demographic rates, particularly fertility, under-five mortality, and adult mortality rates;
- Investigate the direct and indirect factors that determine the level and trends of fertility;
- Measure the level of contraceptive knowledge and practice among women and men by method;
- Determine immunisation coverage and prevalence and treatment of diarrhoea and acute respiratory diseases among children under five; identify infant and young child feeding practices and assess the nutritional status of children age 6-59 months and women age 15-49 years;
- Assess knowledge and attitudes of women and men regarding sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS, and evaluate patterns of recent behaviour regarding condom use;
- Identify behaviours that protect or predispose people to HIV infection and examine social, economic, and cultural determinants of HIV;
- Determine the proportion of households with orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs); and
- Determine the proportion of households with sick people taken care of at household level.

The 2006-07 NDHS is part of the worldwide Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) programme funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). DHS surveys are designed to collect data on fertility, family planning, and maternal and child health; assist countries in conducting periodic surveys to monitor changes in population, health, and nutrition; and provide an international database that can be used by researchers investigating topics related to population, health, and nutrition.

MAIN RESULTS

Fertility : The survey results show that Namibia has ex­perienced a decline in fertility of almost two births over the past 15 years, with the fertility rate falling from 5.4 births per woman in 1990­1992 to 3.6 births in 2005-07.

Family planning : Knowledge of family planning in Namibia has been nearly universal since 1992. In the 2006-07 NDHS, 98 percent of all women reported know­ing about a contraceptive method. Male con­doms, injectables, and the pill are the most wide­ly known methods.

Child health : Data from the 2006-07 NDHS indicate that the under-five mortality rate in Namibia is 69 deaths per 1,000 live births (based on the five-year pe­riod preceding the survey).

Maternal health : In Namibia, almost all women who had a live birth in the five years preceding the survey re­ceived antenatal care from health professionals (95 percent): 16 percent from a doctor and 79 percent from a nurse or midwife. Only 4 percent of mothers did not receive any antenatal care.

Breastfeeding and nutrition : Breastfeeding is common in Namibia, with 94 percent of children breastfed at some point dur­ing childhood. The median breastfeeding dura­tion in Namibia is 16.8 months.

Malaria: One in four households interviewed in the survey has at least one mosquito net, and most of these households have a net that has been treated at some time with an insecticide (20 percent).

HIV/AIDS and STIS : Knowledge of HIV and AIDS is universal in Namibia; 99 percent of women age 15-49 and 99 percent of men age 15-49 have heard of AIDS.

Orphans and vulnerable children : One-quarter of Namibian children under age 18 in the households sampled for the 2006-07 NDHS live with both parents, while one in three does not live with either parent. Seventeen per­cent of children under age 18 are orphaned, that is, one or both parents is dead.

Access to health facilities : Households interviewed in the 2006-07 NDHS were asked to name the nearest government health facility, the mode of transport they would use to visit the facility, and how long it takes to get to the facility using the transport of choice.