Phase 1 / Assessment
“It is very good to work with the communities and beneficiaries learning how People live out there.” – Makhosi Buthelezi
Problem Statement
Malnutrition refers to when a person’s diet does not provide enough nutrients or the right balance of nutrients to support good health. The term ecompasses 3 groups of conditions: undernutrition, micronutrient-related malnutrition and overnutrition. The types and levels of malnutrition that may be present in each South African community differs. Applying a standard model to differing contexts is, therefore, ineffective for addressing malnutrition. This is where our Assessment Phase comes in. The Assessment Phase provides us with a mechanism for identifying the physical health challenges and needs that each community faces, which enables us to determine the appropriate course of action to address their challenges and needs.
Assessment Overview
A functional nutrition surveillance system.
The initial role of the Assessment Phase is to analyse the types and levels of malnutrition per community. The aim of the assessments is to provide immediate physical health data of the individuals in the community (especially children). This data allows us to take short-term relief action and identify opportunities for possible implementation plans with the longterm goal of sustainability. We carry out assessments at the beginning stages of the project, as well as on an annual basis, as part of the monitoring and evaluation of the project.
Assessment Value
Identify and define the barriers that restrict communities from having a nutritious and healthy diet.
This step is vital to inform appropriate and effective interventions that support food security. It enables us to target communities that require short-term relief action and long-term programme development interventions. We are also able to monitor trends in nutritional status by varying demographic factors such as region, community, race, age, gender and socio-economic status. The data provided by these trends is helpful for shaping our interventions and keeping track of our progress to ensure that our interventions have a lasting impact.
