How to conduct a rapid nutrition situation assessment, A guide for health districts and sub-districts in South Africa

In South Africa more than 2 million children suffer from malnutrition. It is an underlying cause in more than one in three of all childhood deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. A new national Integrated Nutrition Programme (INP) has been developed to address the problem of malnutrition in South Africa.

An important first step in implementing this programme is to perform a nutrition situation assessment in the area concerned. A nutrition situation assessment serves to:

• Be the first step in the triple A cycle (Assessment, Analysis and Action) of the INP
• Be an advocacy tool, by persuading policy makers and funders of the problem of malnutrition and the validity of implementation plans
• Assist in the future monitoring and evaluation of the INP
• Assist in the development of a district health system (a nutrition situation assessment would fit into the broader district health situation assessment)
• Pull together the different members of the district health team to work towards a common plan of INP implementation
• Bring together a multi-sectoral team and increase their appreciation of the need for all sectors to fight malnutrition (especially the Departments of Education, Welfare, Agriculture and Water Affairs).