New podcast episode: The fragile foundations of global health data

By GiveWell @ 2025-08-22T15:29 (+12)

GiveWell’s ability to find and fund highly cost-effective health programs relies on a foundation of credible data. A key source of that data, the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), recently had its primary funding from USAID discontinued. This creates the potential of a significant challenge for GiveWell’s research—and for evidence-based grantmaking across the global health sector.

In this episode, GiveWell CEO and co-founder Elie Hassenfeld speaks with Senior Researcher Adam Salisbury to explore the implications of this funding gap. They discuss how the DHS program works, why it’s essential for informed decision-making, and how GiveWell is responding to the growing limitations of public health data.

This episode was recorded on August 13, 2025 and represents our best understanding at that time.

Elie and Adam discuss: 

• The surprising source of global health data: In many countries where GiveWell works, basic health metrics like child mortality rates aren’t comprehensively tracked in official registries. The DHS program fills this data gap by conducting vast, in-person surveys that ask women to recall their children’s birth and survival histories. This method provides the primary data for mortality estimates in low- and middle-income countries.
• Why good data is difficult to get: The DHS is resource-intensive, costing tens of millions of dollars per year to administer in-person, house-to-house surveys across more than 50 countries. Enumerators must travel to remote areas where unreliable internet and postal systems necessitate this approach. The logistical complexity and high cost are primary reasons the surveys in any given country often happen only once every five years.
• GiveWell’s approach to repairing data gaps: With USAID funding discontinued, GiveWell is considering whether to support these surveys directly, coordinating with other global health partners who share similar interests. GiveWell is also funding targeted data collection to address questions the DHS doesn't cover, such as bed net durability or how people in low-income countries value consumption versus health gains.

The loss of funding for DHS creates a significant gap in global health infrastructure that affects decision-making across the sector. GiveWell is working with other global health organizations to explore sustainable solutions, while considering the trade-off between funding programs that help people now and funding research that guides future effective giving.

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