Methods of nutrition surveillance in low-income countries

Background In 1974 a joint FAO/UNICEF/WHO Expert Committee met to develop methods for nutrition surveillance. There has been much interest and activity in this topic since then, however there is a lack of guidance for practitioners and confusion exists around the terminology of nutrition surveillance. In this paper we propose a classification of data collection activities, consider the technical issues for each category, and examine the potential applications and challenges related to information and communication technology. Analysis There are three major approaches used to collect primary data for nutrition surveillance: repeated cross-sectional surveys; community-based sentinel monitoring; and the collection of data in schools. There are three major sources of secondary data for surveillance: from feeding centres, health facilities, and community-based data collection, including mass screening for malnutrition in children. Surveillance systems involving repeated surveys are suitable for monitoring and comparing national trends and for planning and policy development. To plan at a local level, surveys at district level or in programme implementation areas are ideal, but given the usually high cost of primary data collection, data obtained from health systems are more appropriate provided they are interpreted with caution and with contextual information. For early warning, data from health systems and sentinel site assessments may be valuable, if consistent in their methods of collection and any systematic bias is deemed to be steady. For evaluation purposes, surveillance systems can only give plausible evidence of whether a programme is effective. However the implementation of programmes can be monitored as long as data are collected on process indicators such as access to, and use of, services. Surveillance systems also have an important role to provide information that can be used for advocacy and for promoting accountability for actions or lack of actions, including service delivery. Conclusion This paper identifies issues that affect the collection of nutrition surveillance data, and proposes definitions of terms to differentiate between diverse sources of data of variable accuracy and validity. Increased interest in nutrition globally has resulted in high level commitments to reduce and prevent undernutrition. This review helps to address the need for accurate and regular data to convert these commitments into practice

2016 Global Hunger Index Data

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger globally, regionally, and by country. Each year, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) calculates GHI scores in order to assess progress, or the lack thereof, in decreasing hunger. The GHI is designed to raise awareness and understanding of regional and country differences in the struggle against hunger. Since 2015, GHI scores have been calculated using a revised and improved formula. The revision replaces child underweight, previously the sole indicator of child undernutrition, with two indicators of child undernutrition—child wasting and child stunting—which are equally weighted in the GHI calculation. The revised formula also standardizes each of the component indicators to balance their contribution to the overall index and to changes in the GHI scores over time. The 2016 GHI has been calculated for 118 countries for which data on the four component indicators are available and where measuring hunger is considered most relevant. GHI scores are not calculated for some higher income countries where the prevalence of hunger is very low. The GHI is only as current as the data for its four component indicators. This year's GHI reflects the most recent available country-level data and projections available between 2011 and 2016. It therefore reflects the hunger levels during this period rather than solely capturing conditions in 2016. The 1992, 2000, 2008, and 2016 GHI scores reflect the latest revised data for the four component indicators of the GHI. Where original source data were not available, the estimates of the GHI component indicators were based on the most recent data available. The four component indicators used to calculate the GHI scores draw upon data from the following sources: 1. Undernourishment: Updated data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) were used for the 1992, 2000, 2008, and 2016 GHI scores. Undernourishment data and projections for the 2016 GHI are for 2014-2016. 2. Child wasting and stunting: The child undernutrition indicators of the GHI—child wasting and child stunting—include data from the joint database of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Bank, and additional data from WHO's continuously updated Global Database on Child Growth and Malnutrition; the most recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) reports; and statistical tables from UNICEF. For the 2016 GHI, data on child wasting and child stunting are for the latest year for which data are available in the period 2011-2015. 3. Child mortality: Updated data from the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation were used for the 1992, 2000, 2008, and 2016 GHI scores. For the 2016 GHI, data on child mortality are from 2015. Resources related to 2016 Global Hunger Index 2016 Global Hunger Index Web App 2016 Global Hunger Index Linked Open Data (LOD) 2016 Global Hunger Index Report </a

2017 Global Hunger Index Data

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger globally, regionally, and by country. Each year, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) calculates GHI scores in order to assess progress, or the lack thereof, in decreasing hunger. The GHI is designed to raise awareness and understanding of regional and country differences in the struggle against hunger. Since 2015, GHI scores have been calculated using a revised and improved formula. The revision replaces child underweight, previously the sole indicator of child undernutrition, with two indicators of child undernutrition—child wasting and child stunting—which are equally weighted in the GHI calculation. The revised formula also standardizes each of the component indicators to balance their contribution to the overall index and to changes in the GHI scores over time. The 2017 GHI has been calculated for 119 countries for which data on the four component indicators are available and where measuring hunger is considered most relevant. GHI scores are not calculated for some higher income countries where the prevalence of hunger is very low. The GHI is only as current as the data for its four component indicators. This year's GHI reflects the most recent available country-level data and from 2012 through 2016. It, therefore, reflects the hunger levels during this period rather than solely capturing conditions in 2017. The 1992, 2000, 2008, and 2017 GHI scores reflect the latest revised data for the four component indicators of the GHI. Where original source data were not available, the estimates of the GHI component indicators were based on the most recent data available. The four component indicators used to calculate the GHI scores draw upon data from the following sources: 1. Undernourishment: Updated data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) were used for the 1992, 2000, 2008, and 2017 GHI scores. Undernourishment data for the 2017 GHI are for 2014-2016. 2. Child wasting and stunting: The child undernutrition indicators of the GHI—child wasting and child stunting—include data from the joint database of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Bank, and additional data from WHO's continuously updated Global Database on Child Growth and Malnutrition; the most recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) reports; and statistical tables from UNICEF. For the 2017 GHI, data on child wasting and child stunting are for the latest year for which data are available in the period 2012-2016. 3. Child mortality: Updated data from the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation were used for the 1992, 2000, 2008, and 2017 GHI scores. For the 2017 GHI, data on child mortality are from 2015. Resources related to 2017 Global Hunger Index 2017 Global Hunger Index Website 2017 Global Hunger Index Linked Open Data (LOD) 2017 Global Hunger Index Report </a

2015 Global Hunger Index Data

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger globally, regionally, and by country. Each year, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) calculates GHI scores in order to assess progress, or the lack thereof, in decreasing hunger. The GHI is designed to raise awareness and understanding of regional and country differences in the struggle against hunger. This year, GHI scores have been calculated using a revised and improved formula. The revision replaces child underweight, previously the sole indicator of child undernutrition, with two indicators of child undernutrition—child wasting and child stunting—which are equally weighted in the GHI calculation. The revised formula also standardizes each of the component indicators to balance their contribution to the overall index and to changes in the GHI scores over time. The 2015 GHI has been calculated for 117 countries for which data on the four component indicators are available and where measuring hunger is considered most relevant. GHI scores are not calculated for some higher income countries where the prevalence of hunger is very low. The GHI is only as current as the data for its four component indicators. This year's GHI reflects the most recent available country-level data and projections available between 2010 and 2016. It therefore reflects the hunger levels during this period rather than solely capturing conditions in 2015. The 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2015 GHI scores reflect the latest revised data for the four component indicators of the GHI. Where original source data were not available, the estimates of the GHI component indicators were based on the most recent data available. The four component indicators used to calculate the GHI scores draw upon data from the following sources: 1. Undernourishment: Updated data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) were used for the 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2015 GHI scores. Undernourishment data and projections for the 2015 GHI are for 2014-2016. 2. Child wasting and stunting: The child undernutrition indicators of the GHI—child wasting and child stunting—include data from the joint database of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Bank, and additional data from WHO's continuously updated Global Database on Child Growth and Malnutrition; the most recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) reports; statistical tables from UNICEF; and the latest national survey data for India from UNICEF India. For the 2015 GHI, data on child wasting and child stunting are for the latest year for which data are available in the period 2010-2014. 3. Child mortality: Updated data from the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation were used for the 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2005, and 2015 GHI scores. For the 2015 GHI, data on child mortality are for 2013. Resources related to 2015 Global Hunger Index 2015 Global Hunger Index Web App Snapshots of Hunger in the Developing World 2015 Global Hunger Index Linked Open Data (LOD) 2015 Global Hunger Index Report </a

2014 Global Hunger Index Data

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger globally and by region and country. Calculated each year by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the GHI highlights successes and failures in hunger reduction and provide insights into the drivers of hunger, and food and nutrition security. The 2014 GHI has been calculated for 120 countries for which data on the three component indicators are available and for which measuring hung er is considered most relevant. The GHI calculation excludes some higher income countries because the prevalence of hunger there is very low. The GHI is only as current as the data for its three component indicators. This year's GHI reflects the most recent available country level data for the three component indicators spanning the period 2009 to 2013. Besides the most recent GHI scores, this dataset also contains the GHI scores for four other reference periods- 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2005. A country's GHI score is calculated by averaging the percentage of the population that is undernourished, the percentage of children youn ger than five years old who are underweight, and the percentage of children dying before the age of five. This calculation results in a 100 point scale on which zero is the best score (no hunger) and 100 the worst, although neither of these extremes is reached in practice. The three component indicators used to calculate the GHI scores draw upon data from the following sources: 1. Undernourishment: Updated data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) were used for the 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2014GHI scores. Undernourishment data for the 2014 GHI are for 2011-2013. 2. Child underweight: The "child underweight" component indicator of the GHI scores includes the latest additions to the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Database on Child Growth and Malnutrition, and additional data from the joint data base by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), WHO and the World Bank; the most recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey reports; and statistical tables from UNICEF. For the 2014 GHI, data on child underweight are for the latest year for which data are available in the period 2009-2014. 3. Child mortality: Updated data from the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation were used for the 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2005, and 2014 GHI scores. For the 2014 GHI, data on child mortality are for 2012. Resources related to 2014 Global Hunger Index </p