Browse by sub-sector
Open all 218 in the libraryCommunity Nutrition & Behavior Change
Community-based nutrition promotion, counseling, growth monitoring and promotion, and social and behavior change communication on diet, feeding, and care practices.
Output
Goal
Acute Malnutrition Management (CMAM)
Community-based management of acute malnutrition: screening and admission, outpatient and inpatient treatment of severe and moderate acute malnutrition, and treatment performance against reference standards.
Output
Goal
Infant & Young Child Feeding (IYCF)
Breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices, measured with the WHO and UNICEF IYCF indicator definitions, including early initiation, exclusive breastfeeding, and minimum acceptable diet.
Output
Outcome
Nutrition Surveillance & Assessment
Population-level measurement of nutritional status, including anthropometric and SMART surveys, surveillance systems, and assessment of anemia and micronutrient status.
Output
Goal
Micronutrient Supplementation & Fortification
Vitamin A, iron and folic acid, and other micronutrient supplementation, food fortification, and coverage and use of fortified products.
Output
Goal
Other Nutrition sub-sectors
Smaller measurement areas in Nutrition, with a sample indicator from each.
Methods by outcome type
Match the method to the outcome, not to what is easiest to collect.
| Outcome type | Primary method | Observation | Key instruments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nutritional status (anthropometry) | Population-based anthropometric survey using standardized measurement | Direct measurement required (weight, height/length, MUAC, edema) | SMART surveys, WHO Child Growth Standards, WHO Anthro, DHS and MICS anthropometry modules |
| Program coverage | Coverage assessment of treatment or supplementation services | Mixed methods; case-finding and small-area sampling, not a single survey | SQUEAC and SLEAC, MUAC screening, administrative program data |
| Treatment performance (recovery, default, death) | Program cohort monitoring of admissions and exits | Not required (routine program records by exit category) | CMAM program monitoring against Sphere performance thresholds, routine reporting |
| Feeding practices | Household survey using standardized recall-based questions | Not required (caregiver report against defined recall period) | WHO and UNICEF IYCF indicators, DHS and MICS IYCF modules |
| Micronutrient status & supplementation | Survey of supplement and fortified-food coverage, with biomarkers where rigorous | Coverage self-reported; status requires biomarker measurement | DHS and MICS supplementation modules, biomarker assessment where feasible |
| Behavior & knowledge | Structured questionnaire, observation of practices where feasible | Observation preferred for care practices; recall common for knowledge | DHS and MICS knowledge and practice modules, structured observation |
Common evaluation questions
The questions that anchor design and data-collection decisions, grouped by cluster.
Community Nutrition & Behavior Change
Did community nutrition counseling change the targeted feeding or care practices?
Evidence: Household survey of practices using standardized wording at baseline and endline, with observation where feasible. Design: Outcome evaluation, before-and-after.
Is growth monitoring and promotion reaching the intended children and informing action?
Evidence: Program coverage data triangulated with a small-area survey and review of how results are used. Design: Implementation evaluation.
Acute Malnutrition Management (CMAM)
Did the treatment program meet recognized performance standards for recovery, default, and death?
Evidence: Program cohort data by exit category compared against Sphere performance thresholds. Design: Implementation evaluation, performance monitoring.
What share of acutely malnourished children is the program actually reaching?
Evidence: Coverage assessment using SQUEAC or SLEAC. Design: Coverage evaluation.
Infant & Young Child Feeding (IYCF)
Did the program change exclusive breastfeeding or complementary feeding practices?
Evidence: Household survey using the WHO and UNICEF IYCF indicator definitions at baseline and endline. Design: Outcome evaluation, before-and-after.
Are IYCF counseling contacts translating into the intended practices, not just attendance?
Evidence: Practice indicators measured in a survey, separated from counts of counseling sessions delivered. Design: Outcome evaluation.
Nutrition Surveillance & Assessment
Did the prevalence of wasting or stunting change in the target population?
Evidence: Repeat anthropometric survey (SMART or DHS and MICS wording) interpreted against the WHO Child Growth Standards. Design: Outcome evaluation; trend interpreted with attention to attribution.
Is the surveillance system producing timely, good-quality data that informs decisions?
Evidence: Data quality review of surveillance reporting plus a review of how outputs are used. Design: Implementation evaluation.
Micronutrient Supplementation & Fortification
Did coverage of supplementation or fortified foods reach the intended population?
Evidence: Coverage survey using standardized supplementation-module wording, triangulated with program data. Design: Outcome evaluation, before-and-after.
Is the fortified product reaching and being consumed by the target group, not just distributed?
Evidence: Survey of access and use, separated from quantities procured or distributed. Design: Implementation evaluation.
The standards that matter
Nutrition has a well-developed measurement ecosystem, but it is split across status, treatment, and feeding-practice communities. Use SMART survey methods and the WHO Child Growth Standards for anthropometric status, the WHO and UNICEF IYCF indicator definitions for feeding practices, SQUEAC or SLEAC for treatment coverage, and Sphere performance thresholds for acute malnutrition program quality. Align household-survey wording to DHS and MICS so your figures reconcile with national datasets, and use the WHO Global Nutrition Targets and the Nutrition Cluster indicators for impact-level and humanitarian reporting.
SMART Methodology ↗
Standardized Monitoring and Assessment of Relief and Transitions: standard survey method for measuring acute malnutrition and mortality, including sampling, anthropometry, and analysis (ENA software).
WHO Child Growth Standards ↗
International reference for interpreting anthropometric measurements (weight-for-height, height-for-age, weight-for-age) in children under five.
WHO and UNICEF IYCF Indicators ↗
Definitions and measurement methods for infant and young child feeding practices, including breastfeeding and complementary feeding indicators (2021 update).
SQUEAC / SLEAC (Coverage methods) ↗
Semi-Quantitative and Simplified LQAS Evaluation of Access and Coverage: standard methods for assessing the coverage of acute malnutrition treatment programs.
UNHCR SENS ↗
Standardised Expanded Nutrition Survey guidelines, with modular anthropometry, anemia, IYCF, food security, and WASH survey tools built on SMART methods.
Sphere Standards (Nutrition) ↗
Minimum humanitarian standards for food security and nutrition, including reference performance thresholds for acute malnutrition treatment programs.
WHO Global Nutrition Targets ↗
World Health Assembly endorsed global targets for stunting, wasting, anemia, low birth weight, exclusive breastfeeding, and overweight, used for impact-level reporting.
Global Nutrition Cluster ↗
Standardized indicators and guidance for coordinating and measuring humanitarian nutrition response.
Cost of the Diet (Save the Children) ↗
Method and software estimating the lowest-cost diet meeting energy and nutrient requirements from local foods, used to assess affordability of a nutritious diet.
Common mistakes to avoid
Interpreting anthropometry without the WHO Child Growth Standards
Wasting, stunting, and underweight are defined relative to the WHO Child Growth Standards. Reporting "malnutrition" without naming the reference, indicator, and cutoff breaks comparability and invites reviewer questions.
Running a status survey without SMART sampling and quality checks
Departs from SMART methodology, which specifies sampling, measurement, and plausibility checks. Ad hoc anthropometric surveys produce prevalence figures that are not comparable or defensible.
Using non-standard IYCF indicator wording
Reworded breastfeeding or complementary feeding indicators break comparability with the WHO and UNICEF IYCF definitions and with DHS and MICS. Use the standard definitions and recall periods verbatim.
Reporting treatment numbers without coverage
Counting children treated says nothing about what share of cases the program reaches. Coverage requires a recognized method such as SQUEAC or SLEAC, not admission totals alone.
Judging CMAM quality without the Sphere performance thresholds
Recovery, default, and death rates should be reported by exit category and compared against the Sphere reference performance thresholds, not presented as raw counts without a standard.
Treating supplements distributed as coverage or use
Quantities procured or distributed are outputs. Coverage and consumption require a survey using standardized supplementation-module wording, not logistics data alone.
Frequently asked questions
What anthropometric indicators and reference should I use for a nutrition survey?
Report wasting (weight-for-height), stunting (height-for-age), and underweight (weight-for-age) against the WHO Child Growth Standards, and use MUAC and bilateral edema where relevant for acute malnutrition. Use SMART methodology for sampling, measurement, and plausibility checks, and the WHO Anthro tools or ENA software for analysis. State the indicator, reference, and cutoff so your figures are comparable to national and survey data.
How should I measure infant and young child feeding practices?
Use the WHO and UNICEF IYCF indicator definitions and measurement methods rather than custom phrasing. These cover breastfeeding indicators (such as early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding under six months) and complementary feeding indicators (such as minimum dietary diversity, minimum meal frequency, and minimum acceptable diet), each with a defined recall period. DHS and MICS use these definitions, which keeps your data comparable to national datasets.
How do I measure whether a treatment program is actually reaching malnourished children?
Use a recognized coverage method. SQUEAC (Semi-Quantitative Evaluation of Access and Coverage) combines program monitoring data, qualitative information, and small-sample surveys to estimate coverage and identify barriers. SLEAC (Simplified LQAS Evaluation of Access and Coverage) classifies coverage across service delivery units at lower cost. Admission counts alone do not tell you what share of cases you are reaching.
How should I report CMAM treatment performance?
Report outcomes by exit category (recovered, defaulted, died, non-recovered) from program cohort data, and compare them against the Sphere performance thresholds for acute malnutrition treatment rather than presenting raw counts. Define how you classify each exit category up front, and keep moderate and severe acute malnutrition cohorts separate so the figures are interpretable.
Which standards should a nutrition M&E plan reference?
It depends on the program. For status surveys, use SMART methodology and the WHO Child Growth Standards. For feeding practices, use the WHO and UNICEF IYCF indicators. For treatment coverage, use SQUEAC or SLEAC, and for treatment quality, the Sphere performance thresholds. Align household-survey wording to DHS and MICS, and use the WHO Global Nutrition Targets and Nutrition Cluster indicators for impact-level and humanitarian reporting. In refugee settings, the UNHCR SENS guidelines package these into a standard survey.