63. Percentage of school-aged children meeting minimum dietary diversity score

63. Percentage of school-aged children meeting minimum dietary diversity score

VERSION

V3.0 - 2026.03 — Existing

INDICATOR CODE

TECHNICAL OWNER

PRG-S Nutrition & School-based programmes

INDICATOR TYPE

Country Level Outcome Indicator

INDICATOR CLASSIFICATION

Complementary

INDICATOR SCOPE

Programme specific

APPLICABILITY

The selection of this indicator is recommended against the following sub-activities in CSPs logframes. Selection of the below sub-activities will NOT trigger in COMET the mandatory selection of this indicator:

School Meals Programme On Site (SF_ONS)
School Meals Programme Take Home Incentives (SF_THI)

This indicator is also recommended when the Nutrition-sensitive marker is selected.

UNIT OF MEASUREMENT & ANALYSIS

Percentage of school-aged children

DEFINITION

This indicator measures the proportion of school aged children meeting a minimum dietary diversity score. The indicator proposed here is intended to measure the dietary adequacy of school-aged children. Minimum dietary diversity is defined as the consumption of 5 or more food groups out of 10 in the last 24 hours. The Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) provides an estimation of the quality of diet for a given individual.

Below are key definitions for this indicator:

Dietary Diversity Score – School-Aged Children: Diet Diversity Score (DDS) for school aged children is a dichotomous indicator of whether school-age children have consumed at least five out of ten defined food groups in the previous day or night (24 hours recall). It is a food group diversity indicator that reflects one key dimension of diet quality – micronutrient adequacy – validated across 11 micronutrients: Vitamin A, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, Vitamin B-6, folate, Vitamin B-12, Vitamin C, calcium, iron and zinc. It is a proxy for higher micronutrient adequacy. In other words, a prevalence of higher DDS among school-aged children is a proxy for better micronutrient adequacy.

School-aged children: For purposes of this indicator, the term refers to children who are old enough to attend primary school and for whom this module is intended. The typical age range is 5–19 years, although the minimum age varies by country.”

RATIONALE

Global burden of disease analysis estimates that 20% of deaths are due to unhealthy diets. In low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) contexts, School-based Feeding programmes not only provide important contributions to children’s daily food and micronutrient intakes but can also work as platforms to improve food choices and diet quality. School meal programmes operate in nearly every country in the world, and they can provide platforms to reach school-age children at scale.

WFP distributes meals, snacks, or a take-home ration to school-aged children with the overall aim of improving their nutritional outcomes alongside their educational outcomes. Historically, WFP has consistently measured the children’s educational outcomes as a main result of WFP School Feeding Programmes but has not been able to measure WFP’s contribution towards the children’s nutritional outcomes due to a lack of appropriate and widely accepted measurement tools.

IFPRI, in collaboration with WFP conducted a multi countries validation study of a standard Minimum Dietary Diversity Score as a proxy for micronutrient intake in School-Aged Children in four countries (Uganda, Malawi, Burkina Faso and Zambia). The study recommended the Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) 10 food groups, used to measure Minimum Diet Diversity for women and 15-49 years, to be used as an indicator to assess the dietary diversity among school-aged children.

The WFP School Feeding strategy sets out the vision for school feeding programming in WFP . Its corresponding theory of change identified a series of short, medium- and long-term results that are expected to be achieved through school-feeding programmes; one of these expected results is an enhanced diet diversity of girls and boys. This indicator is important to measure the SBP theory of change and understand the dietary diversity of school-age children as a proxy for higher micronutrient adequacy.

DATA COLLECTION TOOL

Surveys from the beneficiary population are the primary data source. For accuracy, it is essential to employ a representative sample size. It is advisable to conduct interviews with both the caregiver and the child to gain a comprehensive insight into the child's consumption patterns across various settings, including at home, outside the home, and at school.

The data for this indicator is obtained through the utilization of the following tool, which incorporates a module identical to that of the Minimum Dietary Diversity Women (MDD-W) indicator. This module is designed to gather information about the food consumption of children within the past 24 hours, at school, at home and other places outside home or school.

Module – Dietary Diversity for School-Age Children

The enumerator asks a series of standard probing questions (see below) to help the child/caregiver recall all foods and beverages consumed the previous day and night and probes for the main ingredients in mixed dishes. The recall period covers a continuous, 24-hour period starting from the time the child woke up the previous day to the time the child went to bed. Enumerators must be properly trained to correctly categorize meals containing a mix of different food groups and to record only food groups where more than 15 grams of food in that group was consumed to exclude nutritionally less relevant foods used as condiments or seasonings from the total score.

Standard Questions Now I’d like to ask you about foods and drinks that you (when asked to the child) or your child consumed yesterday. The questions entail all that was consumed during the day or night, whether consumed or drunk at home or somewhere else. 1. Yesterday, did you/your child have breakfast? If yes, what did you/or your child have? 2. Yesterday, did you have a snack after breakfast and before lunch? If yes, what did you/or your child have? 3. Yesterday, did you have lunch? If yes, what did you/or your child have? 4. Yesterday, did you have a snack after lunch and before dinner? If yes, what did you/or your child have? 5. Yesterday, did you have dinner? If yes, what did you/or your child have? 6. Yesterday, did you have a snack after dinner? If yes, what did you/or your child have? Each food or beverage mentioned by the caretaker/child should be recorded on an open grid and then marked on a predefined list (either by the enumerator immediately using the list below or using a CAPI program or after the data collection by someone familiar with matching food items to food groups). For each eating episode, after the respondent mentions foods and drinks, the enumerator should probe to ask if they ate or drank anything else and continue probing until they say, “No, nothing else”. If the respondent mentions a mixed dish like soup or stew, the enumerator should ask for all ingredients in the mixed dish. For mixed dishes where it is possible to pick out ingredients or consume only broth, ask if the respondent ate each ingredient or only had the broth. Continue to probe about ingredients they say, “Nothing else.” Instruction for Recording Information As the respondent recalls foods and drinks, mark the corresponding item in the “Description” column and mark ‘1’ in the questionnaire's response column for that row. If the same food or drink is mentioned more than once, the enumerator should not mark it again after the first time. Optionally: if the food is not listed in any of the rows on the questionnaire, the food should be written in a bottom row labeled “Other beverages and foods”. After completing the recall, the enumerator should mark ‘no’ for rows where the respondent did not report consuming items.
Food Groups	Row	Food groups Sub- division	Questions: Yesterday, during the day, what did you eat or drink:	Consumed food groups/description
				Yes=1 No=0
1. Grains, white roots and tubers, and plantains	A	Foods made from grains	Porridge, bread, rice, pasta/noodles, sorghum, millet, corn, couscous, barley or other foods made from grains	yes (1)
				_no (0)
	B	White roots and tubers or plantains	White potatoes, white yams, manioc/cassava/ yucca, cocoyam, taro roots or tubers, plantains or any other foods made from white -fleshed roots or tubers, or plantains	yes (1)
				no (0)
2. Pulses (beans, peas or lentils)	C	Pulses (beans, peas and lentils)	Beans or peas (fresh or dried seed), lentils or bean/pea products, including hummus, tofu and tempeh	yes (1)
				no (0)
3. Nuts and seeds	D	Nuts and seeds	Groundnut/peanut, cashew, walnut, certain seeds (Baobab seeds, chia seeds, flaxseed), or nut/seed ” butter” or pastes	yes (1)
				no (0)
4. Dairy	E	Milk	Milk	yes (1)
				no (0)
	F	Milk product	Cheese, yoghurt or other milk products but NOT including butter, ice cream, cream or sour cream	yes (1)
				no (0)
5. Meat, poultry and fish	G	Organ meats	Liver, kidney, heart, gizzard or other organ meats or blood-based foods (blood sausage)	yes (1)
				no (0)
	H	Red flesh meat from mammals	Beef, pork, lamb, goat, mutton, rabbit, yak,	yes (1)
				no (0)
	I	Processed meat	Salami, bacon, bologna, hot dogs	yes (1)
				no (0)
	J	Poultry and other white meats	Chicken, duck, goose, guinea fowl	yes (1)
				no (0)
	K	Fish and Seafood	Fresh, frozen or dried fish, shellfish, shrimp, clams	yes (1)
				no (0)
6. Egg	L	Eggs	Eggs from poultry or any other bird	yes (1)
				no (0)
7. Dark green leafy vegetable	M	Dark green leafy vegetable	List examples of any medium-to-dark green leafy vegetables, including wild/foraged leaves	yes (1)
				no (0)
8. Vitamin A- rich fruits and vegetables	N	Vitamin A-rich vegetables, roots and tubers	Pumpkin, carrots, squash or sweet potatoes that are yellow or orange inside	yes (1)
				no (0)
	O	Vitamin A-rich fruits	Ripe mango, ripe papaya, apricot, ripe cantaloupe, peaches, etc.	yes (1)
				no (0)
9. Other vegetables	P	Other vegetables	Beets, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, eggplant, zucchini, radish, tomato, mushroom	yes (1)
				no (0)
10. Other fruits	Q	Other fruits	Apple, avocado, banana, baobab fruit, berries, pineapple, orange, watermelon, berries, guava, coconut flesh, tangerine	yes (1)
				no (0)
	R		specialized Nutritious Foods (SNF) for children such as Super Cereal or other (e.g. WawaMum)	yes (1)
				no (0)
Unhealthy food groups and fortified foods do not count for DDS. They are recommended for inclusion in questionnaire but not mandatory. The below 2 modules are useful for trend analysis on children’s consumption patterns. They are not required for the calculation of the Score above.
Food Groups	Row	Food groups Sub- division	*Questions:*	Consumed food groups
			*Yesterday during the day or at night, did you eat or drink:*	Yes=1
				No=0
Fried and salty foods	S	Packaged salty snacks	Crisps, chips, puffs	yes (1)
				no (0)
	T	Deep fried foods	Doughnuts/fried dough/fried bread, samosas	yes (1)
				no (0)
	U	Instant noodles	Instant noodles	yes (1)
				no (0)
	V	Fast food restaurant foods	Foods from … [name local fast food chains]	yes (1)
				no (0)
Sweet foods	W	Sweet foods	Chocolates, candies, pastries, cakes, biscuits, cookies, ice cream and popsicles	yes (1)
				no (0)
Sweet beverages	X	Sweet beverages	Sweetened tea, sweetened coffee, or sweetened herbal drinks	yes (1)
				no (0)
Oil, fat and butter	Y	Oil, fat and butter	Vegetable oil, palm oil, shea butter, margarine, other fats/oil	yes (1)
				no (0)
Consumption of fortified food		“Did you eat or drink fortified foods/drinks during the day or night yesterday?
		If yes, what kind of fortified food/drink:
		Fortified oil – Y/N
		Fortified wheat flour – Y/N
		Fortified maize flour – Y/N
		Fortified Rice – Y/N
		Fortified drink – Y/N
		Other, please specify:

SAMPLING REQUIREMENTS

Representative sampling is required for this indicator. Guidance is available here.

INDICATOR CALCULATION FOR REPORTING

Constructing the Minimum Dietary Diversity (MDD)-for School-age children

To calculate the Minimum Dietary Diversity of School-age children, the 10 food groups are first summed into a score ranging from 0 to 10. For each of the food groups, add one point if any food in the group was consumed.

Each child is then coded yes or no for scoring at least (≥) 5, followed by a calculation of the proportion of children who score at least (≥) 5.

The percentage of school-aged children who consumed foods from at least (≥) five food groups during the previous day is computed as below:

Percentage of school - aged children who meet minimum dietary diversity for school-age children

Numerator: the number of school-aged children who consumed foods from at least (≥) five food groups during the previous day.

X 100

Denominator: the total number of school-aged children surveyed.

For additional food groups that should be surveyed but do not count towards the Minimum Dietary Diversity of School-age children, such as the unhealthy food groups, the calculation will simply include the percentage of children reporting consumption of that particular food group in the previous day.

DATA ENTRY AND DISAGGREGATION IN CORPORATE SYSTEMS

Values are recorded in the logframe. Each value has a reporting combination which is created based on:

Sub-activity
Country
Target Group

Data entry in COMET as follows:

Follow-up values are reported as one overall number.

Recommended disaggregation for reporting outside of COMET:

It is also recommended to report the percentage of children in pre-primary, primary & secondary grades meeting minimum dietary diversity score.

School grade
Sex

Baseline and target values are entered as one overall percentage.

BASELINE

Baselines are set only once, at one of the following points:

At the beginning of the CSP, or
When the indicator is selected for reporting after the commencement of the CSP, or
When a change in target, location and/or modality triggers a new reporting combination (target, location and modality) for an existing indicator.

Baselines remain fixed for the entire CSP period and are not recalculated annually, unless applicable above.

TARGET SETTING

Annual targets:

The proportion of school-age children who reached Minimum Dietary Diversity for school-age children (MDD-School-age children) has increased compared to the previous year’s value. See comment end of CSP target. If uncertain, it’s recommended to target an increase of 10%.

End of CSP target:

The target at the end of the CSP is to increase the MDD-School-age children value compared to the baseline. The percentage of increase should be determined based on local context; baseline value; type of intervention implemented and its theory of change or impact pathway; scientific evidence on the impact of this type of intervention, if available; timeframe, and season. Take note that ongoing interventions in the same area and/or events that may affect the desired outcome.

FREQUENCY OF DATA COLLECTION

Annually in the same season

INTERPRETATION

The interpretation of the indicator is: “X percentage of school –aged children achieved minimum dietary diversity-for school age children, and they are more likely to have higher (more adequate) micronutrient intakes than those who did not.”

REPORTING EXAMPLE(S)

WFP’s school-based programme ensured that school children accessed nutritious, healthy, and reliable school meals as they accessed education services. In 2025, WFP supported the Ministry of Education in the DRC Country Office to implement and scale up the national School Feeding Programme. To improve dietary diversity, WFP introduced a fresh food component in the home-grown School Feeding Programme, benefiting 9,500 children. The dietary diversity of assisted children was measured, and notable improvements were noted. 61% of children had achieved minimum dietary diversity in 2025 as compared to 50% at baseline in 2020. This means that a higher number of children are consuming more diverse and nutritious diets¹.

INDICATORS COLLECTED & ANALYSED AT THE SAME TIME

The following indicators may be reported along with this indicator:

COMPLEMENTARYQUALITATIVE RESEARCH

The Country Office can consider an array of qualitative methods, monitoring techniques, and approaches to understand the broader consumption and dietary habits of school children (e.g., Key Informant Interviews with national stakeholders or Focus Group Discussions with caregivers and other local actors). These can help better articulate WFP’s contribution as well as the effects of School Feeding Programme.

DECISIONS DATA CAN INFORM

This indicator informs various decision-making processes. Below are some suggestions:

Assessing whether the program is attaining its desired outcomes
Using the results to advocate for additional funding
Identifying schools, regions, or districts that require targeted attention
Exploring opportunities for future collaboration with other agencies and improving School Feeding Programmes.
Identifying additional requirements to support children's dietary consumption and habits.

VISUALIZATION

WFP’s school-based programme ensured that school children accessed nutritious, healthy, and reliable school meals as they accessed education services. In 2022, WFP supported the Ministry of Education to implement and scale up the national School Feeding Programme. To improve dietary diversity, WFP introduced a fresh food component in the home-grown School Feeding Programme, benefiting 9,500 children. The dietary diversity of assisted children was measured, and notable improvements were noted. 61% of children had achieved minimum dietary diversity in 2022 as compared to 50% at baseline in 2017. This means that a higher number of children are consuming more diverse and nutritious diets.

The overall proportion of school-aged children meeting a minimum dietary diversity can be visualized using a bar chart over time (by year or CSP period) and/or by other disaggregation dimensions for comparability as exampled below.

LIMITATIONS

While data are collected from individual children, the indicator cannot be used to infer diet quality for an individual, as it is based on a single recall period over one day and night (24 hours) and does not reflect day-to-day variability for individual intakes.

FURTHER INFORMATION

A Quick Guide for Designing Healthy School Meals or Snacks

¹Example based on dummy data.

Documentation Index

63. Percentage of school-aged children meeting minimum dietary diversity score