Local-level planning, combined with the bringing together of people from different government departments and institutions, strengthens local capacities in the longer term. This contributes to sustainability so that activities will continue after external support has been withdrawn. Even in the initial acute stage of a crisis, when there is pressure for rapid decision-making and planning, efforts should be made to take a long-term perspective and to build commitment and consensus with the local population. Men and women need to be consulted and actively involved in decision-making in order to find out how they can contribute and assume ownership of the recovery process. Coordinated planning can also ensure that external agencies work where there is most need, and that there is appropriate geographical and technical coverage.
While the design and planning of appropriate interventions should be based on reliable and timely information, in practice the planning of priority actions is also linked to other factors, such as political context, the scale and stage of the emergency, the availability of resources, and the management requirements for different types of interventions.
The objectives of planning and targeting for food and nutrition actions are to:
Interventions need to be designed so that they can respond to:
rapidly changing situations that alternate between relative stability and crisis;
population groups that may have been displaced on successive occasions;
an unpredictable duration of the crisis;
different locations and statuses of affected population groups: rural/peri-urban/urban; formal camp/informal settlement/with host communities; refugee/IDP/population in situ;
fluctuating humanitarian access to affected population groups and areas because of political or security factors;
the political and social context of the situation.
Within the overall goal of protecting and promoting good nutrition it will be necessary to formulate immediate objectives to address the key problems identified. Figure 3 shows the type of objectives that were identified based on the Lunsar problem tree.
Donors often require a logical framework that supports the project or intervention proposal. Where lack of stability and insecurity are constraining factors, it can be difficult to set measurable objectives. It is easier to judge whether objectives are realistic when there is good knowledge of the population and area in which the activities take place. It is important to keep a clear vision of the overall objectives, but adaptability may be needed in the implementation of activities. Objectives, outputs and the indicators to measure progress need therefore to be revised periodically in order to keep up with changing conditions.
Figure 3: Identification of potential objectives and activities to address the food and nutrition situation in Lunsar
Source: Kate Godden, Children's Aid Direct, Sierra Leone. Personal communication.
Limitations on time, resources and implementation capacity make it necessary to identify a limited number of complementary priority actions that will have the greatest impact and/or leverage on nutritional well-being. At the same time, it is necessary to screen for any possible negative impact. A wide group of stakeholders should identify criteria for selecting and screening interventions. The criteria can then be used systematically to evaluate each potential intervention. Box 23 provides examples of screening criteria that could be adapted to specific local conditions.
The planning team could draw up a list of locally relevant factors against which to screen potential interventions. Part V provides examples of how to screen potential interventions against these criteria.
Box 23: Examples of screening criteria
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Relevance to the defined problem: i.e. is the intervention likely to address:
Feasibility: Are the requirements for successful implementation present? Are there technical, political, security, cultural or financial constraints to successful implementation? Effectiveness:
Ease in targeting: How easy is it to identify the operational characteristics of the target group for practical application? How accessible is the target group? Cost-effectiveness: in comparison with alternative interventions. Ease in evaluation: Can baseline indicators be identified from the needs assessment? Can monitoring identify triggers for a transition/exit strategy. Sustainability: Is the intervention likely to become a long-term ongoing activity? |
Source: Adapted from FAO, 1983.
Ensure an appropriate mix of short- and long-term actions
In most emergencies, the focus is legitimately on immediate life-saving actions to help populations in distress. Normally, it is not until some time afterwards that anything other than the immediate needs for food, shelter, water and other essentials are considered. However, an understanding of the long-term factors that increase vulnerability to food and nutrition insecurity should make it possible to design and plan an intervention strategy that can address both current and chronic vulnerability to food and nutrition insecurity.
Box 24 gives an example of how the potential objectives and activities identified in Lunsar (Figure 3) were developed into an integrated programme.
Box 24: A small-scale integrated programme to reduce food insecurity
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In 1996, Children's Aid Direct (CAD) established a small-scale integrated programme to reduce food insecurity in Lunsar town, Sierra Leone. A needs assessment was implemented using a combination of rapid appraisal techniques and a formal survey of the town (including a problem tree, see Figure 2). The assessment highlighted the following problems, which CAD prioritized:
A three-pronged programme was set up:
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Source: K. Godden, 1998, personal communication.
Clustering and sequencing of interventions
It is possible to cluster and/or sequence complementary actions, so that there is an added value to individual interventions. This can be achieved whether the principle intervention is aimed at reducing current or long-term threats to food and nutrition security. Examples include an intervention that is designed to improve dietary diversity incorporating sequential actions to increase the availability of a wider range of seeds, together with extension advice for improved production techniques and nutrition education to promote consumption. Mechanisms for coordination among implementing partners and with donors need to be sufficiently harmonized so that the same approach is used throughout a particular geographical area or target group. In practice, it is difficult to achieve joint implementation of complementary activities by different sectors or organizations. Instead, a common conceptual framework and appropriate coordination mechanism can help to ensure that the targeting and sequencing of activities provide mutual reinforcement.
Flexibility in the design and implementation of interventions
Interventions must be designed to be flexible enough to respond to rapidly changing situations on the ground. Decisions about when to shift between different types of intervention can be made easier when possible "triggers" have been identified beforehand. These can relate to the types of conditions, indicators and time scale that would make a shift necessary or feasible. Such types of conditions may include an adequate rainfall pattern, a stable or improved security situation, adequate quantity and quality of land available for resettlement, political stability, and donor commitment to long-term funding. Indicators could include malnutrition rates at normal levels, stabilized market prices, and increased local employment opportunities. Time benchmarks when shifts in interventions are more appropriate could be identified for different livelihood patterns, for example, pre-planting period, post-winter, opening of fishing season. The data needed to provide this information could be incorporated into a "context" monitoring system.
Planning cycles need to incorporate contingency planning, including a portfolio of different interventions that could be mobilized quickly. Work plans should be prepared on a three-month rolling basis to allow flexibility for rapidly changing situations.
The use of targeting can ensure optimal impact by directing limited resources to those geographical areas and population groups at greatest risk. However, targeting can have potential negative effects because of poor programme design or failure of the targeting mechanism. One example is when poorly targeted emergency food aid distorts the local market economy and leads to a decrease in local market prices, which creates a disincentive for local producers. Another example is when geographic targeting encourages population groups to move in order to take advantage of assistance.
Targeting issues are particularly difficult in complex emergencies, where the choice of targeting methods is influenced by time limitations, the information available and security considerations. In order to reach the most vulnerable population groups, it may sometimes be necessary to surmount strong political and economic interests of the forces controlling the situation. Ineffective targeting can contribute to prolonging the conflict, for example, when large amounts of food aid are diverted to feed the military, or when the most needy (e.g. ethnic or religious groups) are excluded or neglected. In conflict situations, the design of targeting strategies needs explicitly to recognize local power relations, and targeting should only be attempted where it is technically feasible to do so. An example of this in Burundi is shown in Box 25.
Box 25: Non-participatory targeting in Burundi
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The food committees in the regroupment camps of Burundi are composed of representatives from the army, the hill chief, the hill sub-chief and representatives from WFP (all male). The committees are responsible for selecting people to offload food, security, registration, the actual physical distribution of food, etc. Given the overwhelming power of the army, which is heavily armed, participatory mechanisms are not only impossible, but would be risky. |
Source: Wilde, 1997, p. 19.
The example from Burundi can be contrasted with the example from southern Sudan in Box 26, where a more participatory approach was possible and gender issues were explicitly addressed.
Box 26: Participatory targeting in southern Sudan
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As part of the inter-agency programme Operation Lifeline Sudan, WFP distributes food to areas of great need and high security risk. WFP teams of two to three people have only five days in which to organize the drops of food, portering, security, targeting and distribution. Relief committees of seven women (one of whom serves as leader) and six men are set up. After discussions have been held with counterparts and security arrangements made, there is plenty of time between airdrops of food. This time is used for discussions with the relief committees, including participatory exercises using proportional piling to identify the most vulnerable villages. The selection of beneficiaries within sub-villages is in the hands of a senior female. Only women and particularly vulnerable men can be selected. It is women who are registered, who collect the food and who carry it home. |
Source: Wilde, 1997, p. 20.
A targeting strategy should incorporate the most appropriate mechanism (administrative targeting, self-targeting), identify the level for targeting and include criteria for screening potential beneficiaries for admission to and exit from a programme. The technical, social, financial and institutional factors and trade-offs associated with each of these three aspects are described in the following subsections.
Targeting for nutrition interventions
For supplementary and therapeutic feeding programmes, individuals are normally screened on the basis of nutritional status (e.g. middle-upper-arm circumference [MUAC] or weight for height), reproductive status (e.g. pregnant or lactating women), health status (e.g. TB, HIV/AIDS) or social status (e.g. elderly, handicapped, orphans, etc.).
The ease of targeting depends on the delivery mechanism (facility-based/take-home ration). Socially and physically marginalized groups can be self-targeted, or may be expected to contribute to the operation of the centre.
For nutrition education interventions it is important to consider targeting all mothers, fathers and care takers (e.g. grandmothers, mothers-in-law, etc.), as well as influential persons in the community. Families with well-nourished children can act as role models (e.g. breastfeeding and infant feeding practices) and provide peer support. Fathers and other influential household members hold important decision-making power over the allocation of household resources for the purchase or production of foodstuffs. They also influence intra-household dietary habits and the allocation of foods or special dietary requirements for young children or chronically ill household members. To promote general nutritional well-being and prevent future nutrition problems from arising, all families should be included and information should be disseminated to the general public through different channels.
Food for work will best reach food-insecure populations when it is targeted to the most disadvantaged regions. Although it is normally the more able-bodied members in a population group who become involved, through discussions with local groups a certain proportion of the ration can be allocated to households who are identified as being vulnerable to food and nutrition insecurity but who are not physically able to contribute to an asset creation project. Non-able-bodied households may be able to contribute in other ways, such as by providing child care, preparing refreshments, or keeping records.
Targeting for programmes aimed at improving and diversifying food production and utilization needs to take the following factors into account:
The most vulnerable groups may not have the physical capacity to become involved in agricultural activities.
Households that can afford to take some risks (i.e. often the better off) are normally the first to adopt new or improved technologies. Therefore, agricultural storage and processing interventions need to be piloted and demonstrated carefully under the typical management conditions for poor households before being disseminated on a wider scale;
Interventions directed at improving food quality and safety should be targeted at different stages in the production-consumption chain. For example, street food vendors need training in improved practices, and consumers buying products from the market (street foods) need to be aware of and demand hygienic practices.
The establishment of common guidelines and mechanisms for targeting among agencies working in the same area can improve coordination and avoid confusion among beneficiary populations.
Implementation partners
The institutional analysis that is carried out as part of the situation assessment and analysis will identify the technical and managerial capabilities of potential implementing partners. The design and planning of interventions should take into account implementing partners' current capacity, and should perhaps start by reinforcing, expanding or modifying their existing activities. Planned activities can extend in coverage or complexity in parallel with training that is implemented through the capacity building strategy. Efficient implementation also depends on physical infrastructure, communication systems, administrative systems for information dissemination, etc. The planning process needs to consider whether the current conditions and status of infrastructure and communication systems will change over the planning time frame.
Setting
The location or setting of the emergency is another characteristic that affects the types of potential interventions. The affected population groups may be in situ in their place of origin, displaced within their own country or have sought asylum in a neighbouring country. They may originally be rural-based and have moved to peri-urban areas, or urban-based populations that have fled to the countryside to escape conflict. They may be very visible in formal camp situations, scattered in informal camps or less easily differentiated, being hosted within the local resident population. The existing livelihood patterns and skills of the population, in conjunction with features of the new setting (availability and quality of agricultural land, income-earning opportunities, market dynamics), need to be taken into consideration in order to determine the most appropriate type of response.
Level of intervention
An understanding of the immediate and underlying causes of the key problems will indicate the most effective level of intervention for the principle actions (e.g. individual, household, local group and institution). However, consideration should also be given to the reinforcing actions that might be required at other levels. For example, the rehabilitation of a water point may be a local-level initiative, which could be reinforced by environmental health and hygiene messages at the household/individual level. The longer-term maintenance of the water point would require a local institution (water point committee, neighbourhood group) to take responsibility.
Cost recovery
The sometimes conflicting values between humanitarian assistance and development assistance can lead to difficulties when making decisions about whether assistance should be "free" or involve some kind of payback mechanism. It is possible that the government and/or local leaders will lobby for free goods. There are times when this is appropriate, for example, for households whose resource base has already been eroded or that are in unstable situations where conflict may return. However, free distributions are unsustainable in the long term and take no account of the local economy or coping strategies. They also devalue the distributed items - which may simply be sold or can be degrading to people and undermine personal responsibilities. In areas where agricultural services (through government or NGOs) are well established, credit or revolving funds may already exist, and general free distribution may undermine those efforts.
During the situation assessment and analysis, the SWOT analysis may have identified potential resources (skills, labour, materials, monetary) within communities that could contribute to project implementation so that beneficiaries can assume ownership of the project. Communal or cooperative strategies may be appropriate, depending on the history and local experiences of these approaches; for example, in some countries or societies these may be associated with forced cooperation or collectivization. Communal approaches based around schools or health clinics will require additional management tasks that may need to be negotiated with facility staff. Payback mechanisms that build on local systems of saving and borrowing (e.g. revolving savings clubs, loans of animals and seeds) may be appropriate. Box 27 provides some examples of payback mechanisms.
Box 27: Examples of payback mechanisms
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Host community considerations
In many IDP or refugee situations, the affected population lives in close proximity to or is hosted within local resident populations. Groups within the resident population may also be vulnerable to food and nutrition insecurity. This may be the result of structural poverty and/or the increasing pressure on natural resources and local-level assets (land, water, fuelwood, food and markets, health services, etc.) brought about by the increased numbers of displaced people. Tensions may arise if a host population perceives that the displaced group is receiving preferential treatment. It is necessary to plan potential support by taking into consideration how the host population might be affected or benefit from interventions. Host communities will be able to supply skills and materials. Infrastructure should be planned so that local residents can also contribute and benefit. Land-lease arrangements could be negotiated with local authorities whereby IDPs/refugees can grow field crops and plant fruit/fodder/fuel trees that benefit the local population when the IDPs leave.
Sustainability: transition/exit strategy
One of the justifications for adopting a livelihood approach is that households will be supported to strengthen and diversify their sources of food and income in order to be less vulnerable to food and nutrition insecurity in the longer term. However, the success of this depends on:
Resource availability and funding time frame
The expected duration of the emergency influences the perception of whether a short-term response to provide relief in the form of basic food, clean water, health care and shelter is sufficient. However, situations that are initially seen as temporary often develop into protracted emergencies because of underlying chronic poverty and/or conflict situations.
Greater and more immediately accessible funds and resources are usually available through relief departments or budgets than through development budgets. Donors tend to have quite rigid guidelines as to the type and duration of activities that can be included in proposals for relief interventions. Often relief funds must be spent within a six- to nine-month period. In addition, in some protracted crises, if the political make-up of a host authority is not acceptable to donors or the international community, the country is classified as being eligible for humanitarian assistance only. This precludes access to development and investment funds.
In order to surmount these difficulties it is necessary to network with other implementing partners and advocate and negotiate with donors. Depending on the context, and the arguments presented, some donors may be more open to stretching the type of intervention that can be included under relief funding, or extending the implementation period.
Understanding the political economy and power relations
Affected populations may be politically or economically marginalized as part of an explicit or implicit government strategy (e.g. to prevent support for rebel groups or to facilitate State investment in areas of high economic potential). Development strategies require choices about the legitimacy of host authorities, which may be a point of dispute. Choosing one host runs the risk of building the capacity of a party to the conflict. Insufficient or inadequate knowledge of underlying power relations can lead to the unintentional favouring of more powerful groups at the expense of the more vulnerable. Information from the situation assessment should provide an analysis of relations among households, local-level institutions and other more immediate structures (local government, market organizations, civil society structures).
In conflict situations, it is particularly important to consider how an intervention might affect social tensions, cohesion and cultural identity. Some interventions can also increase the likelihood of violence (including domestic violence and child abuse) or physical oppression by one individual or group against another.
Gender relations
A crisis can act as a catalyst for changing gender relations either positively or negatively. Women are a key resource in achieving food and nutrition security. The planning process needs explicitly to incorporate the views of women and build on their capacities and technical skills, while recognizing the constraints that they face in terms of resource use and control. Men may find that their previous roles and status as primary income earners are no longer relevant in the new context. The situation assessment should provide an analysis of how gender roles and relations have changed. This analysis needs to be built into the planning of interventions so that contributions and the potential for positive changes are recognized and supported. Efforts need to be made to avoid further marginalization of any group and to ensure that there is equal access to participation in and the benefits from any intervention. Working with women and children on food and nutrition issues may not be perceived as politically threatening and can provide an entry point for working with other groups.
Security situation
The security situation in conflict situations and physical access during a flood- or earthquake-type of natural disaster will influence the type of intervention. Only certain population groups may be accessible, either because they have moved out of affected areas or because they are in areas accessible to the assistance community. The condition of population groups in inaccessible areas is often not known; but it is still necessary to identify ways of assessing the situation of these groups, and of providing appropriate assistance. Information systems need to be able to monitor key indicators and provide information on the political situation and security conditions.
Refugees fleeing civil conflict carrying what household belongings and tools they can carry
FAO/23962/M. Linton
FAO. 1983. Selecting interventions for nutritional improvement. A manual. Nutrition in Agriculture No. 3. Rome, Food Policy and Nutrition Division.
FAO. 2001. Targeting for nutrition improvement. Resources for advancing nutritional well-being. Rome, Food and Nutrition Division.
Technical briefs
Brief 6. Issues related to targeting in crisis situations
