Setting objectives (Special Supplement 1)

Indian flood victims eat at open air kitchen in Nagari.

The objectives of a targeting system arise from the definition of need (Section 1). Given a definition of need, the objective should describe who should get how much food aid, when and why. This provides the basis for monitoring and evaluating the targeting strategy. Boxes 2 and 3 illustrate how assessment findings lead to the development of targeting objectives. Box 4 shows typical objectives for targeted feeding programmes. Objectives should be set with a considered understanding of the potential for putting in place a distribution system that supports the targeting system (Section 4). This may require specific types of assessment to assess the political environment and the risks of diversion, exploitation, taxation and theft (Jaspars, 2000).

Who?

This issue is dealt with in detail in section 3. In practice, the objective of targeting is often determined by the method chosen for assessment and the institutional objectives of the assessor. Incorporating 'outcome' measures of need into objectives, i.e. providing food only to the anthropometrically malnourished, is often appealing to international agencies as these groups may die unless assistance is received and they are largely politically neutral (Jaspars and Young, 1995). However, concentration on this group may exclude other equally needy groups.

How much?

A population estimate is the basis of determining the size of the target population, for estimating the quantity of food aid required and determining whether the programme has achieved its objectives. Population estimates are often inaccurate. The larger the area affected and the greater the variability of need within this area, the more such difficulties are exacerbated, making the estimation of food aid tonnages problematic.

It should be kept in mind that all needs assessments are estimates and contain degrees of errors. For example, an anthropometric survey may conclude that 23% of children under five are acutely malnourished (measured by z score). Before the size of the target population (for an under five supplementary feeding programme) can be determined:

1. the percent of the median figure must be obtained (as percent of the median, rather than z score, is used as admission criteria for feeding programmes)
2. the confidence interval around the prevalence estimate must be taken into account, as the size of the target population could vary substantially as a consequence of sampling error, and
3. a judgement has to be made as to whether the prevalence of malnutrition is likely to be the same across the sampled population, or whether pockets of malnutrition are likely. This judgement can only be made in the context of an understanding of the food security, health and care situation.

Economic assessments are, by their very nature, approximations. Even assessment approaches which attempt to quantify food aid needs, conclude that a range of deficit is experienced by different wealth groups (Seaman et al, 2000). If a single wealth group includes the majority of the population, accurate estimates become even harder to make. Checking of assumptions and estimates should be considered an essential and ongoing part of needs assessment (Darcy and Hoffman, 2003).

Why?

The reasons for the distribution of food aid need to be made explicit for the purposes of monitoring and evaluation. Section 1 outlined the reasons which may be given for giving food aid based on assessment findings.

When?

Where the objective is to prevent impoverishment or a decline in nutritional status, food must be targeted not only at particular groups, but also timed to arrive before the household has already sold assets or taken other measures to obtain food. The quantities of food required, and the time and method of food delivery would be different in each case.

Figure 3 shows a hypothetical agricultural cycle in a rural African setting (with the harvest in October) in an emergency year. It shows the extent to which poor people can access food, and the levels of resulting malnutrition, in a situation where there is no intervention. An agency could intervene at various stages and would require a different objective at each stage. For example, if food aid targeting began in February, it could prevent increases in malnutrition, if food aid was delivered in March, it could prevent the sale of assets, and if it was delivered in May, it could prevent migration. If the response did not occur until June/July, it could only succeed in treating cases of malnutrition and, perhaps, preventing mortality.