We are thrilled to launch the Compendium of Nutrition Intervention Coverage Indicators & Questions for Household Surveys today! The Compendium is a technical resource that can help national and subnational stakeholders fill information gaps around who is receiving nutrition interventions through health systems. Building on a set of indicators proposed in “Measuring the coverage of nutrition interventions along the continuum…
-
-
Let’s make a plan!
Last month the Micronutrient Forum (MNF) released a Micronutrient Data Generation Initiative Strategic Plan—a comprehensive strategy for how to fill long-standing gaps in data on the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies across low- and middle-income countries. The strategy is noteworthy on multiple levels, but in particular for its theory of change which describes the steps and enabling factors required to achieve…
-
Revisiting Core Indicators: Principles from the updated WHO-UNICEF Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) indicator guidance
In April 2021, WHO and UNICEF released updated definitions and measurement guidance for indicators to assess infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices. Originally released in 2008, indicators of diet quality for children 0-23 months of age have been an essential tool for policy makers and program planners within and across low- and middle- income countries (LMICs). The indicators, which…
-
Nutrition-Sensitive Social Protection Programs: What, Why and How Can We Measure Them?
What is nutrition-sensitive social protection? Nutrition-sensitive sectors address the underlying determinants of maternal and child malnutrition (e.g. food security, education), and investments in these sectors are critical to global strategies for eliminating undernutrition. As a cross-cutting dimension, social protection is core to nutrition-sensitive actions. Social protection initiatives aim to protect families from poverty and vulnerability by offering a mix of…
-
Standing Together for Better Nutrition Data during COVID-19 and Beyond
Since mid-2020, DataDENT team members have been actively involved in Standing Together for Nutrition (STfN)—a multidisciplinary consortium of economics, nutrition, and health systems experts committed to addressing COVID-related nutrition challenges. To date the consortium has released two papers presenting results from modeling exercises that project the impacts of COVID-related interruptions to economic and health systems on maternal and child nutrition…
-
Tracking India’s Progress on Addressing Malnutrition and Enhancing the Use of Data to Improve Programs
In collaboration with Partnerships and Opportunities to Strengthen and Harmonize Actions for Nutrition in India (POSHAN), NITI Aayog, and ID Insight, DataDENT developed a joint report addressing considerations for improving the availability and use of data to improve nutrition programs in India. The report shares a comprehensive indicator framework aligned with India’s National Nutrition Mission, POSHAN Abhiyaan, and describes a theory…
-
Understanding the Role of Cognitive Interviewing in Improving Survey Questions
While answering a survey questionnaire, how do the respondents interpret the questions? What techniques of cognitive interviewing can facilitate appropriate framing of the questions? These are important considerations to have while designing survey questions to ensure that they clearly communicate the question’s intent and elicit responses aligned with the intended interpretation. To look at these concepts more closely, IFPRI—an implementing…
-
Webinar Round Up: Measuring food security and nutrition during COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on food security and nutrition. Organizations and initiatives have shared webinars, blogs, and additional resources to help governments, donors, program implementors, and other stakeholders on how to monitor and assess how COVID-19 threatens food systems and nutritional status of populations. Below is a list of webinars on measuring food security and nutrition…
-
Overview of new nutrition questions in the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) core questionnaires
The Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) Program just released the new DHS model questionnaires for round 8 (2018-2023). We previously shared on the blog how DHS and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) are main sources of nationally-representative maternal, newborn, child health, and nutrition data. The four DHS core questionnaires (household, woman, man, and biomarker) will be used globally, and…
-
Updated guidance on measuring fortification coverage
The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) has released new guidance on measuring coverage of food fortification. The Fortification Assessment Coverage Toolkit (FACT) provides standardized tools to collect, analyze and synthesize data on quality, coverage, and consumption of fortified foods in different countries and contexts. FACT also provides guidance on survey design and use in evaluation contexts. GAIN Briefing Paper…