The 2011 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) was designed to provide information on demographic, health, and family planning status and trends in the country. Specifically, the UDHS collected information on fertility levels, marriage, sexual activity, fertility preferences, breastfeeding practices, and awareness and use of family planning methods. In addition, data were collected on the nutritional status of mothers and young children; infant, child, adult, and maternal mortality; maternal and child health; awareness and behaviour regarding HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections; and levels of anaemia and vitamin A deficiency. The 2011 UDHS is a follow-up to the 1988-1989, 1995, 2000-2001, and 2006 UDHS surveys, which were implemented by the Statistics Department of Ministry of Finance and Planning, and later by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS). The specific objectives of the 2011 UDHS were as follows: To provide data at the national and subnational level that would allow the calculation of demographic rates, particularly fertility and infant mortality rates To analyse the direct and indirect factors that determine the level of and trends in fertility and mortality To measure the level of contraceptive knowledge and practice of women and men by method, by urban-rural residence, and by region To collect data on knowledge and attitudes of women and men about sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS, and to evaluate patterns of recent behaviour regarding condom use To assess the nutritional status of children under age 5 and women by means of anthropometric measurements (weight and height), and to assess child feeding practices To collect data on family health, including antenatal visits, assistance at delivery, breastfeeding, immunizations, and prevalence and treatment of diarrhoea and other diseases among children under age 5 To measure vitamin A deficiency in women and children, and to measure anaemia in women, men, and children To measure key education indicators, including school attendance ratios and primary school grade repetition and dropout rates To collect information on the extent of disability To collect information on the extent of gender-based violence This information is essential for informed policy-making and planning, monitoring, and evaluation of health programmes in general and reproductive health programmes in particular, at both the national and regional levels. A long-term objective of the survey was to strengthen the technical capacity of the National Statistics Office to plan, conduct, process, and analyse data from complex national population and health surveys. The 2011 UDHS provides national and regional estimates on population and health that are comparable to data collected in Uganda’s four previous DHS surveys and similar surveys in other developing countries. Data collected in the 2011 UDHS add to the large and growing international database of demographic and health indicators.
