T.15 Average number of school days per month on which multi-fortified or at least 5 food groups were provided

T.15 Average number of school days per month on which multi-fortified or at least 5 food groups were provided

VERSION

V1.0 - 2026.03 — NEW

INDICATOR CODE

T.15

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 HGSF marker and 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 schools days per month

DEFINITION

This indicator measures the average number of school days per month on which multi-fortified food or at least five food groups were provided to school children.

Below are some key terminologies for this indicator:

Multi-fortified foods (or food supplements) are foods or fortified products that contain at least six vitamins or minerals, one of which must be iron. The multi-fortified foods most usually provided by WFP include:

• High-energy biscuits (date bars, local versions)

• Fortified porridges (e.g. Super Cereal; Super Cereal Plus; local versions)

• Fortified cereals

• Micronutrient powders

• Fortified drinks

However, as food technologies develop, additional commodities can be included as long as they fulfil the above criteria. To date, there is no minimum quantity for defining a food as multi-fortified. As long as the food product fulfils the above criteria, it can be considered multi-fortified, regardless of the number of vitamins, minerals and iron in it.

Food types: The food groups presented here are derived from UNICEF’s Programme Guide on Infant and Young Child Feeding (p. 23).

For this indicator, the food group classification is derived from the Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD) indicator for children aged 6–23 months. As these food groups are defined for younger children, they cannot be used directly to assess minimum dietary diversity among school‑aged children. However, they are applied in this indicator to assess whether school‑aged children were provided with a diverse range of foods within school feeding programmes. Accordingly, the indicator measures diversity of food provision and exposure, rather than individual dietary adequacy or micronutrient intake among school‑aged children.

RATIONALE

The indicator establishes whether the school meals WFP provides are fortified and diverse enough to meet the nutritional needs of school-age children.

DATA SOURCE

Data on this indicator can be extracted from activity distribution reports that are filled in from several sources like school records and reports, school stock reports, surveys, programme monitoring data and data from government official records.

INDICATOR CALCULATION FOR REPORTING

This indicator is calculated through computing the average number of school days per month on which multi-fortified or at least 5 food groups were provided = (X1 + X2 + X3 + … + Xn) / n

Where:

X = Number of days within the month in which multi-fortified or at least 5 food groups were provided

n = Total number of months with school feeding

DATA ENTRY AND DISAGGREGATION IN CORPORATE SYSTEMS

The output indicator consists of one detailed indicator. Country Offices (COs) should select this detailed indicator:

• T15.1 Average number of school days per month on which multi-fortified or at least 5 food groups were provided

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

• Geographical location

• Sub-activity

N.B. Planned/Actual values cannot be aggregated across different locations and/or activity tags.

PLANNED FIGURES

The indicator planned values associated to this indicator are set per year in the COMET Other Output Plan (OOP). Planned values should be set in the first quarter of the first year of CSP/ICSP implementation.

Planned values for each reporting year and subsequent years should be revisited in the first quarter of the current reporting year.

FREQUENCY OF DATA COLLECTION

Data collection frequency is monthly while data reporting frequency is annually by averaging all the monthly figures, hence, this indicator is reported in COMET completion reports on an annual basis.

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, which means WFP managed to reach children with nutritious meals. Analysis could describe whether the School Feeding Programme provides multi-fortified foods, five food groups or both; optional to disaggregate the results by district, educational level and type of school. Also, indicate whether the food items are provided by WFP, the government, NGOs, community contributions. Additional information should include:

• Number of months during which the information was collected (or the entire school year);

If 5 food groups are provided, detail:

• Whether it is a fixed menu;

• The percentage of food purchased locally;

• Any efforts made to provide these meals through local agriculture or school gardens;

It’s also crucial to report and explain underperformance, always using planned figures as a basis to determine performance. If the results are considerably below planned values, please explain why this happened and how WFP plans on addressing this in the upcoming year, or what assumptions need to hold true for WFP to be able to perform.

REPORTING EXAMPLE(S)

WFP implements a nutrition-sensitive School Feeding Programme in country A. Children are planned to be reached with meals that contain 5 food groups at least three days a week, or approximately 12 days a month on average. The baseline value was established based on the value from the previous year, which was 10, and WFP aims to increase it to 12 this year.

Average number of school days per month on which 5 food groups were provided =

74 / 10 = 7.4

On average, 5 food groups were provided to schoolchildren 7 days a month, which is 60% of the planned value. (Explanation for underperformance).

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 only reflects the number of food groups provided to children through school meals and does not fully capture whether adequate dietary diversity has been achieved. It should therefore be interpreted alongside other dietary diversity indicators to provide a more complete picture.

FURTHER INFORMATION

COMET Manual

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

Other Outputs Package (pending update)