Nutrition mapping in Tanzania: an exploratory analysis

For effective decisionmaking, policymakers and program managers often need detailed information about the welfare of the population, including knowledge about which specific areas are most affected by poverty and undernutrition. Household sample surveys are an important source of information, yet be...

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Autor principal: Simler, Kenneth R.
Formato: Artículo preliminar
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: International Food Policy Research Institute 2006
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/160402
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author Simler, Kenneth R.
author_browse Simler, Kenneth R.
author_facet Simler, Kenneth R.
author_sort Simler, Kenneth R.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description For effective decisionmaking, policymakers and program managers often need detailed information about the welfare of the population, including knowledge about which specific areas are most affected by poverty and undernutrition. Household sample surveys are an important source of information, yet because the typical sample size is only a few thousand observations, the information is only useful for inferences at high levels of aggregation, such as the nation or large regional units. In contrast, data sources with wider coverage, such as national censuses, rarely capture detailed information on welfare levels. Recently small-area estimation techniques have been applied to the study of poverty to produce estimates of poverty, or poverty maps, for small geographic units. This paper uses household survey and unit record census data from Tanzania to explore the possibility of applying small-area estimation methods to the study of children’s nutritional status as measured by anthropometry. Overall, undernutrition models have had lower explanatory power than poverty models, which has important implications for the precision of the small-area estimates. The analysis finds that applying small-area estimation techniques to anthropometric data is feasible, although the relatively low explanatory power of the regressions does limit both the degree of disaggregation possible and the power to detect significant differences in undernutrition prevalence between districts and subdistricts. In the case of Tanzania, the nutrition mapping approach reveals considerable heterogeneity in nutritional status within regions and within districts. The most striking finding is the much lower levels of undernutrition in areas classified as urban, including relatively small district centers.
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spelling CGSpace1604022025-11-06T07:25:58Z Nutrition mapping in Tanzania: an exploratory analysis Simler, Kenneth R. nutrition malnutrition anthropometry tanzania For effective decisionmaking, policymakers and program managers often need detailed information about the welfare of the population, including knowledge about which specific areas are most affected by poverty and undernutrition. Household sample surveys are an important source of information, yet because the typical sample size is only a few thousand observations, the information is only useful for inferences at high levels of aggregation, such as the nation or large regional units. In contrast, data sources with wider coverage, such as national censuses, rarely capture detailed information on welfare levels. Recently small-area estimation techniques have been applied to the study of poverty to produce estimates of poverty, or poverty maps, for small geographic units. This paper uses household survey and unit record census data from Tanzania to explore the possibility of applying small-area estimation methods to the study of children’s nutritional status as measured by anthropometry. Overall, undernutrition models have had lower explanatory power than poverty models, which has important implications for the precision of the small-area estimates. The analysis finds that applying small-area estimation techniques to anthropometric data is feasible, although the relatively low explanatory power of the regressions does limit both the degree of disaggregation possible and the power to detect significant differences in undernutrition prevalence between districts and subdistricts. In the case of Tanzania, the nutrition mapping approach reveals considerable heterogeneity in nutritional status within regions and within districts. The most striking finding is the much lower levels of undernutrition in areas classified as urban, including relatively small district centers. 2006 2024-11-21T09:50:42Z 2024-11-21T09:50:42Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/160402 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Simler, Kenneth R. Nutrition mapping in Tanzania: an exploratory analysis. FCND Discussion Paper 204. International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/160402
spellingShingle nutrition
malnutrition
anthropometry
tanzania
Simler, Kenneth R.
Nutrition mapping in Tanzania: an exploratory analysis
title Nutrition mapping in Tanzania: an exploratory analysis
title_full Nutrition mapping in Tanzania: an exploratory analysis
title_fullStr Nutrition mapping in Tanzania: an exploratory analysis
title_full_unstemmed Nutrition mapping in Tanzania: an exploratory analysis
title_short Nutrition mapping in Tanzania: an exploratory analysis
title_sort nutrition mapping in tanzania an exploratory analysis
topic nutrition
malnutrition
anthropometry
tanzania
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/160402
work_keys_str_mv AT simlerkennethr nutritionmappingintanzaniaanexploratoryanalysis