Emergency Supplementary Feeding Programmes - Good Practice Review 2 (ODI, 1995, 122 p.): Annex 4: Checklist of questions to identify and prioritise the most appropriate target groups for emergency SFPs

Emergency Supplementary Feeding Programmes - Good Practice Review 2 (ODI, 1995, 122 p.)

		(introduction...)
		1. Objectives and Intended Audience
		2. Emergency Supplementary Feeding Programmes: Principles and Context
		3. Starting and Stopping Emergency SFPs
		4. Programme Design
		5. Monitoring and Evaluation
		6. Typical Scenarios
		Annex 1: Key emergency supplementary feeding programme guidelines
		Annex 2: Checklist for determining whether and how to implement an emergency SFP in the absence of adequate general rations
		Annex 3: Checklist of questions to determine whether to implement an on-site or dry take-home emergency SFP
		Annex 4: Checklist of questions to identify and prioritise the most appropriate target groups for emergency SFPs
		Acronyms

Annex 4: Checklist of questions to identify and prioritise the most appropriate target groups for emergency SFPs

The assumption is made here that children under five years of age will always be the priority target group for emergency SFPs. However, the selection of 'other' target groups and the relative priority to assign to such groups, may require consideration of a number of factors. At the very least, a flexible approach will be needed.

The following is a list of questions which should be considered in selecting the 'other' target groups:

· are there already high levels of wasting (assessed visually or using BMI or BMI proxy measures) amongst adolescents, adults and the elderly?
· are the emergency circumstances likely to lead to a marked deterioration in the nutritional status of adolescents, adults, and/or the elderly, e.g. high levels of looting of general rations, preferential targeting of children within families faced with severe food shortage?
· is the general ration lacking in certain micro-nutrients which is likely to predispose particular groups (not under-fives) to risk of deficiency, e.g. vitamin C and B3?
· are disease patterns affecting particular groups (not under-fives) and contributing to high levels of malnutrition amongst these groups, or are there types of disease that are significantly affecting particular groups (not under-fives) which are not being adequately dealt with by the existing health infrastructure and which could temporarily be addressed by providing medical inputs through feeding centres?
· are existing infrastructure and agency resources adequate to identify 'needy' other target groups, e.g. can staff implement suitable selection criteria, and cover the requirements of the entire target population, e.g. if it is a large population group such as the elderly, is there enough food?
· in a situation where general rations are inadequate, have the work demands of other target groups increased substantially and are these vital to the survival of the household

If the answer to some of these questions is yes, then there may be strong arguments for including other target groups, e.g. not just under-fives, in the emergency SFP or for adopting a programme design which allows beneficiaries more freedom in intra-household targeting decisions with regard to the supplement.