Choice of Indexes and Nature of Development Program

These three child malnutrition indexes can be used together or separately depending on the purpose of assessment and the nature of intervention. When anthropometric measurement is taken regularly over time, it could provide information on how health status of the population is changing and a timely warning on the food supply and poverty status of a given area. For example, in a food crisis situation, if the purpose is to obtain a quick picture of a community or large body of population to understand the extent of the problem, the measurement of wasting alone would provide sufficient information. When the purpose is to obtain information to decide what types of programs are needed in a specific area, all three indexes of anthropometric measurements: weight for age, weight for age, and weight for height, of the population may need be collected.

In using a child malnutrition index to assess the poverty impact of a development project or program, the choice of index will vary with the nature of the intervention. In programs or projects where intervention impacts are expected within a short period of time, by order of sensitivity, the indexes are wasting, underweight and stunting. Examples of short-term strategic interventions are provision of food supplementation, food fortification, food stamp, school lunch programs, etc.

Where interventions are not expected to be immediate i.e. more than 3-6 years after implementation, by order of responsiveness to changes, stunting, wasting, and underweight, are used to capture impacts. Where interventions is expected to have impact in a longterm, stunting is the best indicator to demonstrate the cumulative impact of nutritional problems.

Table 1 [ PDF 85.5KB | 1 page ] presents a summary of common project/program interventions, design strategy and appropriate child malnutrition indexes to be used for assessing progress and impacts.

Download this Discussion Paper [ PDF 243.5KB| 22 pages ].

Comment(s)

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1. Choco
   (posted 01 May 2010 / 02:19:03 AM)
   
   is poverty line:
   -less that $1.25/day per adult, or
   -less than $1.25/day per person in the household (including children), or
   -less than $1.25/day per household?
   
   What a loophole in the definition! Clarity required please!
2. naveen
   (posted 17 December 2008 / 08:35:28 PM)
   
   This information explain clearly about the malnutrition and poverty,
   Most poor people who battle hunger deal with chronic undernourishment and vitamin or mineral deficiencies, which result in stunted growth, weakness and heightened susceptibility to illness.
   
   Poor children are the most prone to this and are often the victims to malnutrition, deficiencies, diseases and ultimately deaths caused by hunger.
   
   Today our world is home to 6.6 billion people. The United States is a part of the high-income group of nations which has a population of around 30 crores
3. ms.gilor araneta -tino
   (posted 02 April 2008 / 05:39:12 AM)
   
   Conditions tagged as underweight or underheight has been a problem for a longtime. If we dig further poverty is one cause. I am glad that the schools here in the Province of Albay are recipients of the Food for the School program. In its simple way, this is a BIG solution, RICE ON THE TABLE of every family. I'mm sure that this will help increase the nutritional status of our schoolchildren.