The core function of any Nutrition Information System is to monitor the performance of nutrition-related programmes and produce analyses that effectively influence humanitarian responses in order to improve people’s nutritional security. They help inform advocates, decision-makers, and nutrition stakeholders to take effective and timely action in a more efficient, equitable, and accountable manner. Nutrition being multidimensional, stronger strategic and technical links between NIS and other sectoral information systems need to be strengthened, with greater clarity on how data is created, collated, shared, and analysed for better and timelier decision making. As NIS experts, we believe establishing common and shared NIS guidelines is essential to data integrity and transparency and to building trust in the information provided by NIS.
Nutrition Information Systems Working Group
The Nutrition Information Systems (NIS) Working Group acts as a central body for global NIS efforts. The Working Group aims primarily to 1) build and promote clear and relevant NIS principles and practices into the nutrition humanitarian community, 2) ensure that all NIS initiatives are aligned and complementary, and 3) foster collaboration between international organisations, donors, governments, and academics to strengthen NIS globally. We help establish global standards for data collection, collation, analysis, reporting, and standardised methodologies to ensure consistency and comparability across countries. Additionally, we encourage research and actively disseminate findings to improve NIS globally. Lastly, we provide rapid technical support and consensus-based expertise insights to country teams during nutrition-related crises.
Key Activities
- Provide technical support for NIS interventions
- Organize efforts to gather nutrition-related data from various sources and ensuring its accessibility to stakeholders
- Conduct capacity-building sessions to enhance skills in data management, analysis, and interpretation among members and stakeholders
- Create standardized protocols and guidelines for data collection, reporting, and analysis to ensure consistency across sectors
- Facilitate regular meetings and forums to encourage collaboration, share updates, and discuss challenges and solutions related to nutrition data
- Identify priority areas for research, collaborate with academic institutions, and support studies that fill data gaps in nutrition
Useful Links
- The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)
- The SMART+ Tool (SMART Methodology)
- Link NCA (Nutrition Causal Analysis)
- CMAM Coverage Monitoring (Action Against Hunger)
