There are two ways of gaining the required data:
> extracting it from your assessment of pregnant and lactating women's overall dietary diversity
> assessing the consumption of iron-rich foods only
In both cases, you first have to decide whether you will count as “iron-rich foods” only animal sources (iron from such sources is absorbed more easily) or also plant sources. IndiKit recommends that you report on both: 1) % of pregnant and lactating women who consumed animal source of iron; and 2) % of pregnant and lactating women who consumed animal and/or plant source of iron.
A) Extracting the Data from Overall Dietary Diversity Survey
1) If your survey involves collecting data for Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W) indicator, extract from the results the number of pregnant and lactating women who ate:
i) any of the animal sources of iron – food group “meat, poultry and fish”
ii) any of the animal and/or plant sources of iron – food groups: “meat, poultry and fish”, “dark green leafy vegetables” and “pulses (beans, peas and lentils)”
2) To calculate the indicator’s value, divide the number of pregnant and lactating women who consumed iron-rich foods the previous day or night by the total number of interviewed pregnant and lactating women. Multiply the result by 100 to convert it to a percentage.
B) Assessing the Consumption of Iron Rich Foods Only
1) Follow the same methodology used for assessing MDD-W. Count the number of pregnant and lactating women who consumed:
i) any of the animal sources of iron – food group “meat, poultry and fish”
ii) any of the animal and/or plant sources of iron – food groups: “meat, poultry and fish”, “dark green leafy vegetables” and “pulses (beans, peas and lentils)”
2) To calculate the indicator’s value, divide the number of pregnant and lactating women who consumed iron-rich foods the previous day or night by the total number of interviewed pregnant and lactating women. Multiply the result by 100 to convert it to a percentage.