New Name for Nutrition Surveillance Project for Somaila
As of March 1st 2009, the Food Security Analysis Unit and the Nutrition Surveillance Project for Somalia have been renamed as the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU). This new name reflects a new integration of both nutrition and food security units into one overall project and represents the start of a 4 year project phase. All future publications therefore will refer to the FSNAU. For more information on the new phase (phase 6) of the project please contact info@fsnau.org
Overview
Official move by FSNAU/Somalia Nutrition Cluster to WHO 2006 Growth Standards
In line with the international recommendations from the Standing Committee on Nutrition and the Global Nutrition Cluster, from 2009 all nutrition surveys results should be reported using the WHO 2006 Growth Standards (WHOGS). These new growth standards replace the previously used National Centre for Health Statistics (NCHS) growth references from the 70's and represent a more appropriate and relevant set of standards on which to assess child growth and development.
Since early 2008, FSNAU has been reporting nutrition survey results using both the NCHS and WHOGS with NCHS as the main figure reported. However, from this month onwards, FSNAU will now report the main results using the WHOGS. In order to avoid confusion and for comparability purposes, the results expressed in NCHS will also be included in all reports. The Nutrition Cluster for Somalia has also officially adopted the WHOGS with caseload estimates based on the new WHOGS. Links to the WHOGS documents describing the sample and methods used to construct the standards, training documents, software, as well as publications and peer-reviewed articles pertaining to the WHO standards can all be accessed on the WHO website. http://www.who.int/childgrowth
Access to the software which facilitates deriving individual and population based estimates of child nutritional status is on the following link: http://www.who.int/childgrowth/software/en/. Among its special features are graphical display and standard analysis of results.