Course Summary:

The purpose of Food and Nutrition Security assessment(FNSA) is to assess the impact of shock on the food security of households and communities within the affected area. An emergency is a situation that causes widespread human, material, economic or environmental damage, threatening human lives and livelihoods and exceeding the coping capacities of the affected communities and/or government. An FNSA may be undertaken in response to a rapid- or a slow-onset emergency. In either case, food and nutrition security is analysed to determine the nature of the risks faced by individuals and households.

Course Objectives:

• description of the current food and nutrition security situation;
• analysis of the ways in which the affected population, the government and other stakeholders are responding to the emergency;
• forecast of the future evolution of food and nutrition security;
• identification of response options, and recommendations for intervention or non-intervention

Course Outline

Conceptual Framework, objectives and types of EFSAs

• Introduction
• Key questions that an EFSA should answer
• Conceptual Framework of an EFSA
• Livelihoods
• Food security
• Nutrition security
• The Food and Nutrition Security Conceptual Framework
• Local adaptation of the Conceptual Framework
• Objectives of an EFSA
• Types of EFSA and partnerships
• Types of EFSA
• Partnerships and inter-agency assessments

Data, indicators and sources of information

• The analysis plan
• Information needs
• Contextual information
• Indicators and data
• Definitions
• The three key sets of indicators used in an EFSA
• Proxy indicators
• Linking indicators to EFSA objectives
• Interpretation of indicators using thresholds
• Cross-tabulation and comparison of indicators
• Prioritization of indicators
• Data sources
• Choice of data and indicators
• Mortality indicators
• Nutrition status indicators
• Food security status indicators

Planning and implementing an EFSA

• Planning an EFSA
• Trigger mechanisms for an EFSA
• Objectives and terms of reference
• Budget
• Analysis plan and information requirements
• Collation and review of secondary data and reference material
• Methodology for primary data collection
• Sampling
• Human resources
• Administration and logistics
• Communications, security and emergency procedures
• Briefing
• Assessment schedule
• Fieldwork
• Daily preparation
• Discussion with community leaders
• Collection of primary data
• Team meetings
• Final community meeting
• Daily analysis
• Primary data collection
• The importance of gathering good quality primary data
• Approaches to primary data collection
• Undertaking primary data collection
• Participatory tools for primary data collection

Analysing EFSA data

• Essential concepts and methods
• Vulnerable groups, including livelihood groups
• Triangulation and convergence of evidence
• Conducting a situation analysis
• Synthesize contextual information
• Estimate the numbers of food-insecure and malnourished
• Determine the characteristics of the food-insecure and malnourished
• Identify the reasons for food insecurity and malnutrition and for risks to livelihoods
• Determine the nature of food insecurity and malnutrition (chronic or transitory)
• Estimate the severity of food insecurity and malnutrition
• Conducting a forecast analysis
• Identification of future opportunities and shocks
• Developing scenarios
• Identification of population groups affected under the most likely scenario
• Estimation of the impact of shocks and opportunities on livelihoods
• Estimation of the numbers of people who will be affected by shocks and opportunities
• Conducting a response analysis
• Factors related to risks to lives and livelihoods
• Entry points for interventions
• Other stakeholders’ interventions, and remaining gaps
• Response options
• Formulating recommendations for interventions and follow-up

Reporting EFSA result

• Report structure
• Report quality monitoring
• Communicating the results of the EFSA 
• Users of the EFSA report and communication channels
• EFSA executive brief
• Presentation workshop or meeting
• Dissemination by e-mail and hard copy
• The news media
• Websites and newsletters
• Advocacy for non-food recommendations