Abdel Ghany, Jasmin

The Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) Program: archiving data for generations to come

Request for Information issued

In our opinion piece (published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in February 2026) we proposed that Demographic and Health Survey data should be archived across multiple locations to create "intentional redundancy". The goal of this is to reduce the DHS Program's vulnerability by preserving data availability and free access even when funding falls away. The DHS Program has now issued a Request for Information to invite institutions based in DHS partner countries to consider hosting data mirrors. The Request for Information is available here and responses are due by 19 June 2026.

EPC pre-conference event in Bologna, June 2026:

Climate Demography: Population Dynamics in a Changing Climate

The IUSSP Scientific Panel on Climate and Environmental Demography and the EAPS Working Group on Climate Demography are organizing a pre-conference event at the European Population Conference (EPC) in Bologna, June 2026.

The workshop will have keynotes from Roman Hoffmann (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis - Vienna, Austria) and Raya Muttarak (Co-Editor of Population Development Review, Bocconi University and University of Bologna) and Mary Abed Al Ahad (Associate Lecturer in Population and Health Geography St.Andrews University) and Alexander De Sherbinin (Director and a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Integrated Earth System Information, Columbia University).

IUSSP Scientific Panel on Climate and Environmental Demography founded

Upcoming activities will be announced

A new Scientific Panel on "Climate and Environmental Demography" is now established at the International Union for the Scientific Study of Populations (IUSSP) for the period 2026-2030. I am co-chairing the panel together with Tobias Rüttenauer. We will announce a number of activities, including virtual training, webinars, and discussions on developing best practice methodology. If you'd like to organize an event at the intersection of climate and environmental demography, please don't hesitate to get in touch! And otherwise, stay tuned for announcements here.

We will work closely with the European Association for Population Studies (EAPS) Working Group on Climate Demography - which is also newly established, more information here.