The 2008-09 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) is a population and health survey that Kenya conducts every five years. It was designed to provide data to monitor the population and health situation in Kenya and also to be used as a follow-up to the previous KDHS surveys in 1989, 1993, 1998, and 2003. From the current survey, information was collected on fertility levels; marriage; sexual activity; fertility preferences; awareness and use of family planning methods; breastfeeding practices; nutritional status of women and young children; childhood and maternal mortality; maternal and child health; and awareness and behaviour regarding HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. The 2008-09 KDHS is the second survey to collect data on malaria and the use of mosquito nets, domestic violence, and HIV testing of adults. The specific objectives of the 2008-09 KDHS were to: Provide data, at the national and provincial levels, that allow the derivation of demographic rates, particularly fertility and childhood mortality rates, to be used to evaluate the achievements of the current national population policy for sustainable development Measure changes in fertility and contraceptive prevalence use and study the factors that affect these changes, such as marriage patterns, desire for children, availability of contraception, breastfeeding habits, and other important social and economic factors Examine the basic indicators of maternal and child health in Kenya, including nutritional status, use of antenatal and maternity services, treatment of recent episodes of childhood illness, use of immunisation services, use of mosquito nets, and treatment of children and pregnant women for malaria Describe the patterns of knowledge and behaviour related to the transmission of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections Estimate adult and maternal mortality ratios at the national level Ascertain the extent and pattern of domestic violence and female genital cutting in the country Estimate the prevalence of HIV infection at the national and provincial levels and by urban-rural residence, and use the data to corroborate the rates from the sentinel surveillance system The 2008-09 KDHS information provides data to assist policymakers and programme implementers as they monitor and evaluate existing programmes and design new strategies for demographic, social, and health policies in Kenya. The data will be useful in many ways, including the monitoring of the country’s achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. As in 2003, the 2008-09 KDHS survey was designed to cover the entire country, including the arid and semi-arid districts, and especially those areas in the northern part of the country that were not covered in the earlier KDHS surveys. The survey collected information on demographic and health issues from a sample of women at the reproductive age of 15-49 and from a sample of men age 15-54 years in a one-in-two subsample of households.
