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INDICATOR 5: Exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months; Proportion of infants 0–5 months of age who are fed exclusively with breast milk
Why this indicator? What will it measure and provide information for?
Breastfed children have at least a six-times greater chance of survival in the early months than non- breastfed children. An exclusively breastfed child is 14 times less likely to die in the first six months of life than a non-breastfed child, and breastfeeding drastically reduces deaths from acute respiratory infection and diarrhea, two major child killers. The potential impact of optimal breastfeeding practices is especially important in developing country situations with a high burden of disease and low access to clean water and sanitation. Exclusive breastfeeding also has a protective effect against obesity and certain non-communicable diseases later in life. It is recommended that the indicator be further disaggregated and reported for the following age-groups:
0–1 month, 2–3 months, 4–5 months and 0–3 months.
What Sustainable Development Goal is the indicator connected to?
* SDG Goal 2.1
* SDG Goal 2.2
Definitions and key terms
Exclusive breastfeeding: is defined as no other food or drink, not even water, except breast milk (including milk expressed or from a wet nurse) for 6 months of life, but allows the infant to receive ORS, drops and syrups (vitamins, minerals and medicines).
Data and information required to calculate the indicator
* Numerator: infants (girls and boys) 0-5 months of age who received only breast milk during the previous day
* Denominator: infants 0-5 months of age
Suggested method for data collection
* WHO (for method)
* WHO (for definitions)
Possible data sources
* Household survey
* Nutrition centers
* Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) is implemented every 5 years
Resources needed for data collection
The quantitative and qualitative data collection, storage and analysis should be conducted by CARE and partners. Partners may include research / university partners. Data collection needs to be included in the monitoring and evaluation plan and budgeted for.
Reporting results for this indicator: number of people for which the change happened
* Reporting Purpose:
* A change in the number/percentage of children (girls and boys) who are exclusively breastfed.
Questions for guiding the analysis and interpretation of data (explaining the how and why the change happened, and how CARE contributed to the change)
* What is the total number of children (girls and boys) under 5 months living in the project area?
* What is the total number of these children (girls and boys) who are exclusively breastfed?
This indicator measures changes in the exclusive breastfeeding of children under 6 months. It contributes to documenting the success or failure of actions taken to improve the adoption of breast feeding practices for children under six months and more broadly best child care practices.
Other considerations
* FGDs can provide qualitative verification, especially in regards to other external factors (insecurity, political instability, disasters, fail crops, diseases outbreak, market’s inflation, etc.) which could have affected food availability, access and utilization or hygiene, sanitation and health conditions.
* All data collection should be done during the same period of the year due to the food access and availability issues in low income and developing countries. These issues may influence the nutritional status of breastfeeding women and their ability to exclusively breastfeed their child.
nut_indicator_5.txt · Last modified: 2018/12/11 21:04 (external edit)