World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

It's the job of WFP field monitors to visit communities, like this one in Pakistan, to assess levels of hunger and malnutrition. They interview families, take surveys and perform statistical tests that give them an accurate picture of the food security situation. On that basis of their analysis, WFP programme officers decide on the best way to help.

The field monitors are assisted by staff from a local NGO, who are familiar with the customs here and fluent in the local language. That can make a crucial difference when talking to community leaders. It's also important to have women on the team who can speak frankly with mothers in the village to find out how they're coping.

It starts with a debriefing at the local sub office, where team leader Sahib Haq requests vehicles and support to go the village and interview the people who live there.

Before the start of an assessment, the WFP team leaders gives practical tips to the NGO staff who will be collecting information and taking measurements to assess levels of malnutrition.

Before the field monitors can begin, WFP team leader Sahib Haq, meets with community leaders to explain the purpose of his vist and ask for their collaboration.

This village is in a region called Sindh that was devastated by a wave of monsoon floodings in autumn 2011. Here, Sahib Haq speaks with some of the men in the village to find out how they have been coping.

To gauge levels of child malnutrition, field monitors measure the circumference of a child's mid-upper arm. It's a simple test that tells the field monitor if a child is malnourished and, if so, how badly.

Verbal Interviews with the heads of families are an important way of finding out what kind of difficulties this village is facing. The information they provide will be tabulated and used to decide which food security initiative best suits their needs.

The field monitors collect extensive information about the family members such how they earn their livelihoods, what assistance they've received in the past and what kinds of difficulties they're having in staying fed and providing for themselves.

Following the assessment, the field monitors return to the suboffice where the survey results are tabulated and used to create a complete food security assessment of the village.