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nutrition

The 2009 Food consumption and Vitamin A status survey in Zambia

Zambia, 2009
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Reference ID
ZMB_2009_FCVASS_v01_M_v01_A_ESS
Producer(s)
Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), HarvestPlus
Collections
Nutrition
Metadata
Documentation in PDF DDI/XML JSON
Created on
Mar 31, 2026
Last modified
May 18, 2026
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38
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  • Study Description
  • Downloads
  • Get Microdata
  • Identification
  • Scope
  • Coverage
  • Producers and sponsors
  • Sampling
  • Data collection
  • Data Access
  • Disclaimer and copyrights
  • Contacts
  • Metadata production
  • Identification

    Survey ID number

    ZMB_2009_FCVASS_v01_M_v01_A_ESS

    Title

    The 2009 Food consumption and Vitamin A status survey in Zambia

    Abbreviation or Acronym

    FCVASS ZMB 2009

    Country
    Name Country code
    Zambia ZMB
    Study type

    Individual Food Consumption/Dietary Survey [hh/ifcs]

    Abstract

    Reliable estimates of population vitamin A status and dietary intake patterns are critical for designing appropriate interventions to correct dietary deficiencies. The fortification of select food products with vitamin A (i.e., margarine, sugar) has already been implemented in Zambia, while the fortification of maize flour and the biofortification of maize or other staple food crops with vitamin A and other micronutrients are being considered as additional strategies. The potential for these strategies to improve vitamin A intakes will partly depend on access to and consumption of these products by those at greatest risk of deficiency. These factors also require quantification.

    HarvestPlus in collaboration with the National Food and Nutrition Commission (Lusaka, Zambia) and the Tropical Diseases Research Centre (Ndola, Zambia) undertook a comprehensive background nutritional survey in rural Zambia to provide information on the potential impact of provitamin A biofortified maize.

    The main goal of this survey was to obtain adequate background nutritional information among preschool children in Zambia; in order to assess the potential impact of food-based interventions to improve vitamin A status, including provitamin A biofortified maize.

    Kind of Data

    Sample survey data [ssd]

    Unit of Analysis

    Individuals

    Scope

    Notes

    The survey collected information on:

    • SUBJECTS: information on the participants such as age, sex and geographical location.
    • CONSUMPTION: information on all foods consumed by each participant in each survey day, including quantities and nutrient values.
      The population groups covered in the survey were children 6-59 months old and women of reproductive age.

    Coverage

    Geographic Coverage

    Sub-national coverage, only rural areas.

    Producers and sponsors

    Primary investigators
    Name
    Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), HarvestPlus
    Producers
    Name
    National Food and Nutrition Commission of Zambia
    Tropical Diseases Research Centre (Zambia)

    Sampling

    Sampling Procedure

    Clusters were represented by standard enumeration areas (EAs) defined for the Population and Housing 2000 Census and were randomly selected from a list of all standard enumeration areas in the selected districts.

    In each EA, households with a resident child 24-59 months of age and an adult female caregiver were identified, and a subset of these households was randomly selected to participate. If multiple eligible children resided in the household, one was randomly selected to participate. Severely malnourished (i.e. weight-for-age or weight-for-height Z-score, 23) or severely anaemic (Hb, 7.0 g/dl) children were excluded.

    Weighting

    No survey weights were used in this survey.

    Data collection

    Dates of Data Collection
    Start End
    2009-05-01 2009-12-30
    Mode of data collection
    • Face-to-face [f2f]
    Data Collectors
    Name Affiliation
    HarvestPlus Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
    National Food and Nutrition Commission of Zambia
    Tropical Diseases Research Centre (Zambia)
    Data Collection Notes

    Data collection was performed with quantitative individual interactive 24-hour recalls. Picture charts were used to help track foods consumed during the period of recall.

    Dietary information was recorded on a 24-hr recall and recipe data collection form. Separate forms were used for each individual in the household (reference child, younger sibling and the caretaker). Interviews were conducted on weekend days and weekdays to take into account day-of-the week effects on dietary intakes. A repeat survey was conducted in the same households during the lean period to obtain information on the within-subject variation of nutrient intakes.

    Dietary intake data were entered by trained staff members familiar with the 24-hour recall methodology into CSDietary, a software program designed by HarvestPlus and Serpro Inc. (Santiago, Chile) specifically for this purpose. The CSDietary program enables conversion of portion size data to gram weight equivalents and calculates energy and nutrient intake data for each food and ingredient consumed.

    Data Access

    Confidentiality
    Is signing of a confidentiality declaration required? Confidentiality declaration text
    yes The users shall not take any action with the purpose of identifying any individual entity (i.e. person, household, enterprise, etc.) in the micro dataset(s). If such a disclosure is made inadvertently, no use will be made of the information, and it will be reported immediately to FAO.
    Access conditions

    Micro datasets disseminated by FAO shall only be allowed for research and statistical purposes. Any user which requests access working for a commercial company will not be granted access to any micro dataset regardless of their specified purpose. Users requesting access to any datasets must agree to the following minimal conditions:

    • The micro dataset will only be used for statistical and/or research purposes;
    • Any results derived from the micro dataset will be used solely for reporting aggregated information, and not for any specific individual entities or data subjects;
    • The users shall not take any action with the purpose of identifying any individual entity (i.e. person, household, enterprise, etc.) in the micro dataset(s). If such a disclosure is made inadvertently, no use will be made of the information, and it will be reported immediately to FAO;
    • The micro dataset cannot be re-disseminated by users or shared with anyone other than the individuals that are granted access to the micro dataset by FAO.
    Citation requirements

    Tropical Diseases Research Centre (TDRC: Ndola, Zambia); National Food and Nutrition Commission (NFNC: Lusaka, Zambia); HarvestPlus, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Zambia, 2009, The 2009 Food consumption and Vitamin A status survey in Zambia

    Disclaimer and copyrights

    Disclaimer

    The user of the data acknowledges that the original collector of the data, the authorized distributor of the data, and the relevant funding agency bear no responsibility for use of the data or for interpretations or inferences based upon such uses.

    Contacts

    Contacts
    Name Affiliation Email
    Food and Nutrition Division Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [email protected]

    Metadata production

    DDI Document ID

    DDI_ZMB_2009_FCVASS_v01_M_v01_A_ESS_FAO

    Producers
    Name Abbreviation Affiliation Role
    Food and Nutrition Division ESN Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Metadata producer
    Statistics Division ESS Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Metadata adapted for FAM
    Back to Catalog
    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

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