SMART

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The availability of up-to-date and relevant information on nutrition and mortality is pivotal in allowing developing countries to make informed decisions on how to best reach the most vulnerable populations.  Unfortunately, the lack of trained personnel in being able to collect, analyse and interpret such information has been a huge drawback in achieving this goal.

SMART (Standardized Monitoring and Assessment of Relief and Transition) is an inter-agency initiative, which was launched in 2002 by a network of organizations and humanitarian practitioners including donors, policymakers, and leading experts in emergency epidemiology and nutrition, food security, early warning systems, and demography.  This methodology would provide a standardised method of undertaking surveys which collect information on the two most vital, basic public health indicators to assess the severity of a humanitarian crisis: nutritional status of children under-five and mortality rate of the population.

In 2006, ACF Canada through the assistance of the UK’s DFID (Department of International Development), signed an agreement which would allow some 200 persons from various organizations (ACF, local ministries of health, UNICEF, other international and national NGOs) be equipped with the skills in being able to use this methodology.

Since this time, and through additional assistance from the Global Nutrition Cluster and ECHO, ACF Canada has been successful in delivering training to over 400 persons in SMART in over 15 countries.  Furthermore, ACF Canada has further developed its technical expertise in the development of country national survey protocols and the integration of these into the national systems, the most recent experience being undertaken in Burkina Faso and Mali.

A key measure of ACF Canada’s success has been its ability to continually adapt and refine SMART which has included: updating the guidelines and software, training materials and also creating a user website.

Today, based on these experiences, ACF Canada is seen as the lead agency in being able to serve as a technical resource for a comprehensive capacity building programme and the continual improvement of the SMART methodology