Other data sources necessary to explain causes of malnutrion
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Other methods must be used to gather information of use to help explain the context and causes of malnutrition in humanitarian emergencies, as illustrated in the UNICEF causal framework of malnutrition (for a diagram of this causal framework, click here). Without these techniques and the information they produce, surveys can only estimate how big the problem with malnutrition is and how extensive are some of the risk factors, but can tell little regarding what to do about it.
Although the procedures for this additional assessment is not nearly as standardized as the procedures used for anthropometric assessment, methods may include food security analysis, food market analysis, key informant interviews, focus groups, targeted observation, secondary data review, and others.
