2011 / Ethiopia /IASC, OCHA

 

This is a published article based upon research carried out by NutritionWorks in Ethiopia.  Humanitarian agencies regularly carry out nutrition surveys to estimate the prevalence of acute malnutrition and mortality as well as to collect data on a wide range of contributory or aggravating factors in order to identify intervention sand to direct aid where it is most needed.

The study was used (i) to assess the proportion of 291 nutrition surveys conducted between 2003 and 2008 that used the recommended sampling  method to estimate the prevalence of wasting, (ii) to assess how and what data on indicators of aggravating factors were collected, (iii) to examine whether data on such factors can be used to establish priorities for emergency assistance based on Ethiopian Government guidelines and (iv) to discuss the general value of such data. The article discusses the findings and implications for organisations implementing surveys of this kind.