T.17 Number of children receiving micronutrient powder

T.17 Number of children receiving micronutrient powder

VERSION

V1.0 - 2026.03 — NEW

INDICATOR CODE

T.17

TECHNICAL OWNER

PRG-S (SBP)

INDICATOR TYPE

Country Level Output Indicator

INDICATOR CLASSIFICATION

Complementary

INDICATOR SCOPE

Programme specific

APPLICABILITY

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

1. School meals programme on-site (SF_ONS)

2. School meals programme take home incentives (SF_THI)

UNIT OF MEASUREMENT & ANALYSIS

Number of children

DEFINITION

This indicator measures the number of children receiving micro-nutrient powder by WFP.

Below are some key terminologies for this indicator:

Micronutrient Supplementation: MNPs are a colorless, odorless combination of vitamins and minerals that are added to food just before it is consumed. When targeted to School Feeding Programmes, they come in multi-serving sachets. One generic sachet of MNP for school age children contains 8 g of powder for 20 meals, providing 1 Recommended Nutrient Intakes (RNI) per child (6-12 years old) of 15 vitamins and minerals. MNPs can be sprinkled on prepared food after cooking and just before eating. When rations provided at school do not provide an adequate level of micronutrients for a school-age child and especially where a nutritious meal from locally available foods would come at a high cost per child, the addition of micronutrient powder (MNP) to a meal maybe a cost-effective way to improve the vitamin and mineral content of the meal.

In contexts with important micronutrient deficiencies among school-age children, school feeding rations can be designed to improve nutritional adequacy and address micronutrient deficiencies. To that end, School Feeding Programmes should provide a proportion of essential micronutrients’ daily requirements for school-age children. Multi-fortified food commodities such as fortified blended foods or Micronutrient Powders (MNPs) should be included in the meal.

RATIONALE

School feeding programs provide an important new opportunity to assist poor families and feed hungry children. These programs have the potential to combat hunger and support nutrition through additional supplements and deworming. They can provide an incentive for poor families to send their children to school—and keep them there—while improving their children’s nutrition and learning abilities. There is evidence that SFP programmes have reduced any anemia and moderate-to-severe anemia in primary-school-age adolescent girls and reduced moderate-to-severe anemia for adult women and preschool children.

In addition, overall better nutrition leads to better school attendance, cognition, and educational achievement. In many cases the programs can have a strong gender dimension, especially where they target girls’ education, and may also be used to benefit specifically the poorest and most vulnerable children.

If WFP contribution to address micronutrient deficiencies is through the provision of fortified commodities, monitoring and reporting of this investment is key to enable the demonstration of impact. COs should obtain the required information from the relevant partners, based on a partnership agreement. Sharing such information with each other also strengthens the accountability of partners towards each other.

According to guidance, in the absence of specific guidance from national policies, the nutritional composition of school meals should at the minimum, meet 30% of daily requirements for energy and macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein and fats) and 50-70% micronutrients. Meal selection and design of ration should be planned accordingly.

DATA SOURCE

Data on this indicator is often collected by WFP’s partners during distributions as well as by WFP in distribution reports.

When partners are responsible for data collection, reporting intervals and formats should be included in all field-level agreements, memoranda of understanding and other partnership agreements.

Other sources include programmatic information – i.e., information on which programmes within the country are targeting children with micronutrient powder.

INDICATOR CALCULATION FOR REPORTING

This indicator is calculated through a simple count of both girls and boys receiving micro-nutrient powder. COMET will automatically add up both male and female planned/ actual values to the level of output indicator.

DATA ENTRY AND DISAGGREGATION IN CORPORATE SYSTEMS

The output indicator consists of one detailed indicator with further details that require reporting on them to capture further disaggregation related to sex. It is mandatory to report the male and female value of the indicator if selected in the logframe.

• T17.1 Number of children receiving micro-nutrient powder

Planned and actual values will be updated in COMET using the table below:

In addition to this, values for the detailed indicator can be collected in COMET by:

• Geographical location

• Sub-activity

PLANNED FIGURES

FREQUENCY OF DATA COLLECTION

Data should be collected and reported monthly in COMET completion reports, with regular monitoring and verification.

INTERPRETATION

When interpreting results, a comparison between planned and actual figures must be done. The closer actual figures are to planned, the better the performance for this output.

The higher the number of children reached with micronutrient powder, the higher the number of children whose micronutrient deficiencies are addressed. This contributes to better health and nutrition.

Large discrepancies between planned and actual beneficiary numbers can be caused by a variety of factors, including:

• A lack of resources (a ‘pipeline break’);

• Logistics, security, access or other distribution constraints; and

• Inaccurate data on actual beneficiaries resulting from gaps in reporting by activity, late reporting or double counting.

REPORTING EXAMPLE(S)

In 2024, the WFP School Meals Programme in Atlantis reached 30,170 schoolchildren with micronutrient powder supplementation as part of daily school meals. Of the total reached, 14,850 were girls and 15,320 were boys, reflecting broadly balanced coverage across sexes in supported schools. No significant barriers to access were identified for either group during the reporting period.

INDICATORS COLLECTED & ANALYSED AT THE SAME TIME

The following indicators may be reported along with this indicator:

• T.1 Number of people (Tier 1) receiving direct food/cash-based/commodity vouchers/individual capacity strengthening transfers (disaggregated by sex, age group, residence status, modality and activity)

• T.3 Quantity of food (mt) provided to people assisted by WFP (including specialized nutritious food and fortified food)

• T.9 Number of schools or institutional sites reached through school-based programming

• T.14 Feeding days as percentage of total school days

VISUALIZATION

N/A

LIMITATIONS

The indicator as such does not measure the consistency and extent to which children received micronutrient powder. Any child who receives micronutrient powder for any period (even one day) is included in the final yearly count. So, the risk of interrupting the intervention due to unforeseen circumstances, such as pipeline breaks will not be captured.

FURTHER INFORMATION

COMET Manual

How to include indicators, activity tags & markers in I/CSP logframes

Other Outputs Package (pending update)