Guidance: How to Measure the Number of Months of Adequate Household Food Provisioning (MAHFP) Based on Quantitative Methods and Isolating

Africare designed the indicator Months of Adequate Household Food Provisioning (MAHFP) to assess the extent of food insecurity in project areas, to develop and initiate intervention strategies, to target vulnerable households, and to assess and track progress made in improving food security throughout the life spans of food security interventions (FSIs). As part of its Institutional Capacity Building (ICB) grant (FY04-FY08) from USAID/DCHA/FFP, Africare identified the need to analyze the questionnaires used by field teams in food security projects to ultimately develop a sound, standardized quantitative measurement of MAHFP. This assessment resulted in distinguishing between two different methods for measuring the MAHFP indicator that have been used by Africare programs that are useful in different ways: MAHFP-PRA and MAHFP-average. 

The guidance presented here supplements the Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance (FANTA) guidelines by taking into consideration the type and source of food provisioning (mainly distinguishing food aid from other household food provisions). The guidelines comply with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Food for Peace (FFP) reporting requirements.