Community-based nutrition monitoring.

A community-based nutrition monitoring system is an information system to generate, on a regular basis, an integrated picture of the nutritious condition of a community for local decision-makers. Community-based nutrition monitoring is an extension of international nutrition surveillance and national nutrition monitoring work to the community level where much of the substantive nutrition activity happens. It represents a constructive integration of familiar concepts related to needs assessment, evaluation and program management information systems. The objectives of community-based nutrition monitoring are to provide, in a timely manner, information pertinent to program targeting, funding, priority-setting decisions; to inform and educate decision-makers and enhance the visibility of nutrition-related activities in the community and to provide a vehicle for community-wide nutrition planning. Information about food access, the needs of specific life-cycle or risk groups and chronic disease prevention can all be part of a monitoring system. The specific foci of a system depend on the policy and programming decisions actually or potentially made in the specific community. The monitoring system utilizes multiple simple indicators collected routinely and reported on a regular basis. The development of such a system is a multi-year, inter-agency effort. It presents significant challenges and opportunities to local nutritionists.