43. Country has carried out a SABER School Feeding Exercise (as part of a Healthy SABER or following the Healthy SABER methodology) | |
VERSION | V4.0 - 2026.03 — Existing with revisions |
INDICATOR CODE | 43 |
TECHNICAL OWNER | PRG-S SBP |
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 the mandatory selection of this indicator: |
UNIT OF MEASUREMENT & ANALYSIS | Yes/No |
DEFINITION | This indicator measures whether a Healthy SABER School Meals Module exercise has been conducted in a country during the reporting period. The indicator is binary and takes a value of 1 (Yes) if the exercise has been completed, or 0 (No) if it has not. It does not measure the results or scores of the assessment, only whether the exercise has taken place. The Healthy SABER school feeding exercise refers specifically to the implementation of the School Meals Module of the Healthy SABER tool, developed jointly by WFP, the World Bank, and the Research Consortium of the School Meals Coalition. The new Healthy SABER consists of three modules: School health-related policies; Essential School Health Services, and School Meals. This last module is building on and refining the previous SABER methodology. For WFP’s CRF, the SABER indicator only relates to the School Meals module. The exercise supports government‑led, multi‑stakeholder analysis and self‑assessment of national school meals programme capacities across five policy dimensions: (i) policy and regulatory framework; (ii) financial capacities; (iii) institutional capacity and coordination; (iv) programme design, implementation, and monitoring; and (v) the role of communities. |
RATIONALE | As national capacity strengthening becomes an increasingly central outcome of WFP’s work, it is essential to track whether structured, government‑led diagnostics are being used to assess and inform capacity development efforts. The Healthy SABER School Feeding exercise provides a standardized and participatory approach for governments and partners to jointly assess national capacities to design, implement, and sustain school meals programmes across key policy dimensions. The interviews and workshop discussions lead to a shared understanding of key challenges and agreement on priority areas for further analysis, providing a foundation for targeted capacity strengthening and technical assistance to sustain national school feeding programmes. Measuring whether a Healthy SABER exercise has been conducted allows WFP to document the use of this established diagnostic tool as a foundation for evidence‑based dialogue, consensus‑building, and prioritization of capacity strengthening and technical assistance. While the exercise produces capacity scores, its primary value lies in the inclusive assessment process, shared understanding of gaps and strengths, and agreement on next steps—making the existence of a Healthy SABER exercise a meaningful milestone in national capacity strengthening efforts. |
DATA SOURCE | The data source for this indicator is the draft and/or validated Healthy SABER School Meals Module report. |
SAMPLING REQUIREMENTS | N/A |
INDICATOR CALCULATION FOR REPORTING | This indicator is calculated as a binary measure (Yes/No) and requires no numerical computation. A value of 1 (Yes) is recorded if a draft or validated Healthy SABER School Meals Module report exists for the reporting period, confirming that the exercise has been completed and documented through a structured multi‑stakeholder process. A value of 0 (No) is recorded if no such report is available. No aggregation, scoring, or weighting is applied beyond verifying the presence of the report. |
DATA ENTRY AND DISAGGREGATION IN CORPORATE SYSTEMS | Values are recorded in the logframe. Each value has a reporting combination which is created based on:
The indicator is reported as one value: Yes or No. |
BASELINE | The baseline for this indicator is established at the start of the Country Strategic Plan (CSP) period and reflects whether a Healthy SABER School Meals Module exercise has already been conducted in the year of the CSP approval. |
TARGET SETTING | Targets for this indicator are set to ensure that a Healthy SABER School Meals Module exercise is conducted at least once every 4–5 years, reflecting the purpose of the tool as a periodic system diagnostic rather than a recurrent annual activity. Target setting should therefore align with the CSP duration and national planning cycles, with the expectation that a Healthy SABER exercise is completed once within a CSP period, unless a previous assessment was conducted shortly before CSP start. |
FREQUENCY OF DATA COLLECTION | Annual |
INTERPRETATION | This indicator shows whether a Healthy SABER School Meals Module exercise has been conducted during the reporting period. A value of Yes (1) indicates that the government, with partner support, has completed a structured and participatory assessment of national school meals capacities, providing a shared evidence base to inform dialogue, prioritization, and future capacity strengthening. A value of No (0) indicates that no such diagnostic exercise has been carried out, and therefore that a comprehensive, up‑to‑date assessment of national school meals system capacities is not available. |
REPORTING EXAMPLE(S) | In 2024, Atlantica successfully carried out a Healthy SABER School Meals Module exercise. The assessment was conducted jointly by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, and the National School Feeding Unit, with technical support and facilitation from WFP. The process included a structured policy and desk review, national and sub‑national consultations, a multi‑stakeholder national workshop, and scoring of the national school meals programme across the five Healthy SABER policy dimensions: policy and regulatory frameworks, financial capacity, institutional capacity and coordination, programme design and implementation, and the role of communities The exercise enabled national stakeholders to systematically analyse strengths and gaps in the existing school feeding programme, particularly in relation to nutrition standards, supply chain performance, and cross‑sectoral governance. Findings highlighted the existence of a national school meals strategy, but also identified key gaps, including the absence of a dedicated school feeding law; increasing but still insufficient budget to cover the full cost of nutritious meals and programme implementation; and the need to strengthen monitoring systems, food safety and quality procedures, and regulations for decentralized procurement. A final Healthy SABER School Meals country report and accompanying action plan were endorsed by the Government in October 2024. The action plan outlines priority areas for system strengthening over the next three years, including the revision of national school feeding guidelines, capacity strengthening for decentralized implementation, and the integration of nutrition‑sensitive procurement practices. Results from the Healthy SABER exercise are now informing the design of Atlantica’s next national school feeding strategy and supporting resource mobilization efforts with development partners. |
INDICATORS COLLECTED & ANALYSED AT THE SAME TIME | This indicator can be analyzed alongside other measures of government capacity strengthening for school meals programmes to provide a more comprehensive picture of national readiness, ownership, and sustainability of school meals systems. |
COMPLEMENTARY QUALITATIVE RESEARCH | Complementary qualitative research can help contextualize the Healthy SABER indicator by examining how the exercise was conducted, perceived, and used by national stakeholders. Methods such as key informant interviews with government counterparts and focus group discussions with technical officials can explore the quality of stakeholder engagement, the credibility and ownership of the findings, and how the results are informing policy dialogue, planning, and capacity strengthening actions. Process reviews can further document WFP’s contribution to facilitating the exercise and the extent to which Healthy SABER findings are translated into concrete follow‑up actions. These qualitative insights help interpret the binary indicator value by shedding light on the relevance, usefulness, and influence of the Healthy SABER exercise beyond its completion. |
DECISIONS DATA CAN INFORM | The completion of a Healthy SABER School Feeding exercise informs country‑level strategic and operational decisions on capacity strengthening for national school meals programmes. The findings and self‑assessment provide an evidence base for drafting or refining a Capacity Strengthening Strategy, identifying priority gaps and appropriate interventions. This, in turn, informs decisions on the focus and sequencing of WFP technical assistance, the design of annual work plans, and the scope of collaboration with government counterparts. The results also support decisions on partner engagement and coordination, including the content of Memoranda of Understanding or other cooperation agreements with government and development partners, and help align resources around agreed national priorities. |
VISUALIZATION | N/A |
LIMITATIONS | This indicator is limited by its binary (Yes/No) structure, as it only captures whether a Healthy SABER School Meals exercise was conducted, without reflecting the quality, scope, depth, or level of government ownership of the assessment. It does not measure whether the findings were translated into concrete actions, nor whether identified recommendations are being implemented. As a result, while useful for tracking completion of the exercise, the indicator provides limited insight into actual system strengthening progress and should be interpreted alongside qualitative information and follow‑up actions. |
FURTHER INFORMATION | Consult GHQ SBP team |
43. Country has carried out a SABER School Feeding Exercise (as part of a Healthy SABER or following the Healthy SABER methodology)
- Published on Apr 27, 2026
- 6 minute(s) read